Eternity's Test
by Ringshadow
Summary: In the midst of the trying to find out why their home was destroyed, the survivors of Lylat must settle into a new home. But what if everything you've been told is wrong? This is the forth installment of the Infinity series.
1. Default Chapter

Eternity's Test

Chapter One: Troubled Beginnings

            Jirest woke up slowly, letting his crystalline eyes flicker open. He ached. That was the only way he could think of it. The fire that had once crawled over his nerves had dulled to a distant throb, but the blurriness remained, covering over half his vision in a haze. Everything had lost the crystalline look, he wasn't seeing the added layers of emotion or pheromones anymore. He sighed painfully, letting his eyes half-close. And this was only with the loss of one antenna! Thank god he hadn't lost both.

            "You're awake! Finally!" Exclaimed a voice, and he lifted his head off the thick cushion that Lylatians called a bed and smiled very weakly at Wrin. "We were starting to get worried about you, Jirest." She sat beside him, studying the bandages over his wound absently. 

            "Sorry." He yawned, slowly sitting up, watching his faded vision waver as he did so. He couldn't see the happiness flowing off Wrin anymore, and it bothered him. He _knew she was, sure, but he couldn't see it anymore. He had lost almost an entire dimension of his sense. "Are Fara and Wolf all right?"_

            "Oh, that's right, you don't know!" Wrin smiled. "Fara had her child while you slept."

            He snapped awake. "What? Isn't that a bit early for her?"

            "Yes, but it's all right. She had a beautiful baby girl, in spite of that fact." Wrin smiled. "I helped her deliver it, so I can vouch for the fact that she's recovering fine."

            "I've missed quite a bit, it seems." He let her help him to his feet, leaning onto her shoulder heavily. "Would you mind walking me to the kitchen?"

            "No problem at all."

            The two walked into the hallway, leaning on each other. It was early in the morning, the Great Fox having just come into orbit around Lylat's new planet. A few of the team members were awake, Wolf was already working on breakfast, Peppy was on the radio. When they entered the kitchen, Jirest smiled brightly when he saw Fara sitting in one of the chairs, looking tired but happy, a towel draped over one shoulder to cover the fact that she was feeding her daughter. "Hello, Fara honored mother!"

            "Hi, Jirest! Glad to see you're finally on your feet." Fara smiled at him, gesturing for him to sit with one arm. "Wrin told you, I take it?"

            "Yes indeed." Jirest reached over shyly, fingers slowly reaching over to brush the newborn's ears, which were perked up, happily absorbed in feeding. When he touched her, she let go and yipped at him from under the towel, peering out from under it, and he snatched his hand back in surprise.

            Wolf laughed out loud. "She's a baby, Jirest, it's not like she can hurt you."

            "What was that noise for?"

            "She was surprised, silly." Fara replied with a wry smile, shifting her daughter and buttoning the shirt up, removing the towel so Jirest could see all of the child. "Her name is Hope. Fox and I thought it would be appropriate."

            "A very good choice." Jirest studied the child curiously.

            Hope was a mix of red and fennec fox, producing a child with strawberry-blonde fur and a shock of red hair already growing in. Her eyes were still birth-blue, currently fixed on her mother's face as she burbled newborn nonsense, complaining half-heartedly about the fact that she wasn't being fed anymore. In Jirest's eyes, she was just tiny, so small he could probably have cradled her in one of his three-fingered hands. He smiled a bit, reaching out again to brush a finger over Hope's cheekbone.

            "She's beautiful."

            "I'm glad you think so. She was worth the effort, certainly." Fara smiled a bit, shifting her daughter so they were chest to chest, the newborn's chin on her shoulder, nuzzling the wispy red hair absently. All of the problems her people had, but they had paled now to this, what her life had become. 

            Fox wandered in, tail lashing the air. "Have you guys looked out a window lately?" He asked with a grin. "Come to the bridge and check this out."

            Everyone followed him up to the bridge, Wrin leading Jirest by the hand, and gaped when they fully saw what floated outside the viewports. The planet was beautiful, about half water half land, a vibrant blue-green spotted with clouds.

            "Air's our standard, et cetera. There's a vaccine prepped so the background germs won't make us sick." Fox said, leaning on the view port, staring out. Home, a new home for his people. "No official name yet. It's a fairly large planet, but we don't want to drop the entire populous down there. One of the moons is our standard too, oddly, the other declared a dead zone, so we can mine it without having to worry too much about it." He looked at everyone else. "So. What do you think?"

            "I think we're going to be busy." Peppy replied with a half-smile.

            Fox laughed, shaking his head. "God, you're probably right about that, but that goes for most of the convoy. Those in charge of the mother ships are trying to figure out who exactly gets to be woke up first, and it's not an easy task."

            "I thought they were just going to do it by profession." Fara lifted an eyebrow.

            "Yeah, well, they were, but it's being contested. As usual." He sighed, ruffling the fur between his ears absently. "To make it worse, the… _situation with the Rekuva has officially gone nuclear according to Pepper." He took Hope absently, licking one of her ears until she started giggling._

            That got everyone looking at him. "Nice of you to share information, Fox." Falco huffed. "Like, what do you mean by 'nuclear'?"

            Fox only shook his head.

            Andross sat back, watching Pepper and Tordak go at it. Tordak was now the highest ranking Rekuva in the area—the asshole in charge. Andross just rolled his eyes. Obviously, that made Tordak think all of Lylat's fleet was at his service. It had taken less then twelve hours for Pepper to blow.

            "Look!" Pepper snarled, jabbing Tordak squarely in the chest, canines bared. "You're taller then me, you're higher ranking then me, but let's get something straight, you overblown bastard! I am in charge of the Lylat fleet! Me, and no one else! The High command advises me, and they alone can change the orders of the fleet! You are NOT, and NEVER WILL be, my boss! Do you get me?"

            Tordak made the low, scratching noise that was a Rekuva growl. "You obviously don't know how to respect your betters, animal."

            "Animal? ANIMAL?!"

            "Shut up. Both of you."

            They stopped, staring at Andross, who had drawn his face into the cold, menacing look that had earned him system-wide fear during Lylat's war. He had been listening to this for nearly half an hour, and had had more then enough of it. His opinion on the Rekuva hadn't changed. To him, they were still to be watched from a distance, and not to be trusted. With the exception of the two on the Great Fox, of course, he had the word of the entire Star Fox team that they were decent people, and that was enough for him.

            "And where do YOU get the authority to speak to me like that?" Tordak asked, quirking an antenna.

            Andross slowly stood, and Pepper took a step back. This wasn't the scientist before him anymore, this was the Emperor, the leader of warriors, destroyer of armies, the striker of fear. "From the simple fact that I can destroy you without thinking about it." Andross walked over to the Rekuva and shoved him back one-handed, his face contorted in fury. "Let me tell you a story. Before the crisis which destroyed my system, I was the most feared warlord and mad scientist in Lylat." He held the Rekuva's gaze, satisfied when he saw awe and fear forming there. Good, maybe the Rekuva was learning his place in the galaxy—below himself, below his friends. "And I don't like you. At all. I don't like your race. At all. I suggest you stop treating my friends with such disrespect." With that, he turned on heel, facing Pepper, face softening, becoming human again. "Now, would you kindly continue the conversation in a more… civil tone of voice, General Pepper?"

            "By all means." The General managed a sour half-smile. Well, at least the destroyer of armies was on his side this time, right? "Look, Tordak, you aren't my boss and you attacked one of my cruisers without reason."

            "We had reason, General." Tordak looked away from Pepper, tugging on one of his armor plates as he recollected his cool, stunned that a Lylatian had scared him so much. "Your ship was in a territory declared closed."

            "One that had been declared closed without issuing a map update." Pepper shook a finger. "We had no way of knowing, and we had a lot of reasons to go to Talar-Dan'i'. It would seem the planet holds some information that we want."

            "The planet is closed."

            Pepper sighed. "Look at me, Tordak." Once the Rekuva did, he continued. "Andross, would you read off what Fara's little group found on the surface of Talar-Dan'i', word-for-word."

            Andross nodded once, and recited the passages from memory, precisely, enunciating clearly each word in the Rekuva's language. He had learned every alien language available to him, what else could he do? The Rekuva, already intimidated by this aging warlord, cowed, then just listened, silent, antennae twitching.

            "That doesn't make any sense." Tordak said, voice honest, confused. "The phrasing is familiar, it's religious writing. But… we do not support genocide! We never have!"

            "Apparently, that isn't true, Tordak." Pepper replied. "From what we can see, your race is the one that planted the bombs that took out our home." He crossed his arms. "The evidence isn't complete, but it's all we have, and a lot of people are… disturbed. The Rekuva haven't done us any harm, but it would seem that your ancestors did."

            "How could we have lived through the creation of a star system?" Tordak wanted to know. "Your scientists said Lylat was created when this galaxy was! For us to have planted the bombs would be to mean that we were older then the galaxy, and no race is that old. We have only been traveling among the stars a mere five hundred years."

            "Or so you've been told." Andross said. "What if it IS right, Tordak? What if everything you've been told is wrong?"

            Tordak turned away restlessly. "What you found can't be right."

            "Well, that's why we'd like to go back to Talar-Dan'i'. We want to know. We have to know. We moved our entire people because of those god damn bombs, Tordak. We have to know why. We have to know the motives."

            "We've lost people too, Andross." Tordak replied, turning back to him, frustrated. "We lost many colonies! We lost many people! Us, the Vun, the Bylar, we've all lost people."

            "Wouldn't you like to know why?" Andross made his voice gentle, hiding the rage that bit at the edges of his nerves.

            "Many people are still looking for those answers, if they were on Talar-Dan'i' they would have been found."

            Pepper and Andross looked at each other and shook their heads. What was true here? Was the information withheld? Forgotten? Was the entire race being manipulated?

            "Regardless, we're going back to Talar-Dan'i', Tordak." Pepper replied. "And your people are not going to stop us. You can try, but you're not going to be able to. If anything we'll put Fox's group at the head of the spear, and you couldn't stop him."

            "Don't remind me. That group is… savage in the way they fight. They fight like they're about to die. Why is that?"

            "They fought like that because you doubted their skills. They're the best we have. It's that simple. So if I were you, I wouldn't piss them off."

Wolf yelped, sitting up in bed, hackles up as he panted, looking at the clock. Four-thirty, ship time. He had gotten about five hours sleep so far. He moaned, ruffling the fur between his ears as he tried to collect his sleep-clouded thoughts.

His most recent terror hadn't been very lifelike, but it had scared him all the same. He had seen enough torture done his subconscious could put him through it in dreams with a cold, calculating accuracy. He sent dark thoughts at the AI in his head, which replied in its normal, half-interested tone that it was not in control of his dreams. Sometimes, he doubted that. Yawning, he kicked the tangled covers off himself and wobbled to the bathroom, staring blankly at the mirror as he scratched one of his ears.

His ears were at completely askew positions from each other, mainly because the one supported with mechanics had gotten crimped during the night. He sighed and fixed it absently, clearing the fur from the tiny gears with one of his claws, nodding in satisfaction when the ear returned to its normal position. He would have to see about getting this stuff finished sometime soon—the bare mechanics got annoying at times.

After pulling on a pair of sweats, he left his room, padding down the hallway. The ship was only dimly lit, ROB usually ran all optional functions at low during the ship's night cycle, routing power to charge batteries and maintenance cycles. The lights flickered on and off as needed as he walked down the hallway, and he huffed as his pupils expanded in and out repeatedly. 

Hearing low, annoyed noises, he paused, sticking his head in the den. Jesse, Bill, and Peppy were sitting around the coffee table, Jesse on the floor, bent over a chip that was on the table, studying it under magnification.

"… So, yeah, they're going into denial now." Bill said, swirling coffee in a mug and staring at it gloomily. "Utter bull."

"I don't know about you guys, but all 185 points of my IQ told me those inscriptions on the pillars were real." Jesse looked up with one eye, blocking the eye with the rig with his hand so he wouldn't see someone's face at a 200x magnification. "And those spiders were too. I've been working on 3D models of them in my programs. I'm guessing they're a few thousand years old now, so it's only given the AIs are nuts."

"No kidding." Peppy sighed. "Would you be sane after all that ROB?"

"I would have shut myself down by then." ROB replied dryly. "I just got the report from the Rekuva. They've got a blockade on Talar'Dan'i'. We're not going to be allowed near it."

"And that's all she wrote." Bill bared his canines at his coffee cup in frustration. "The high command is not going to be pleased."

"No kidding." Wolf said. "Can I come in?"

The trio glanced up. "Hi Wolf! Come on in." Jesse said with a grin, looking at him around the rig as before. "Got anything to contribute?"

"Not really, except that I knew it was bound to happen." He came in and sat, looking at the chip, which was actually part of a huge motherboard. "But what can we do? It must have been approved by the Galaxy Federation council, right? We're new, it wouldn't be good to go against them, especially since our whole race is in their debt."

"That's exactly the problem." Peppy said. "We're starting off with a debt. Will we ever be able to work it off?"

"Good point. Instead of a national debt, we have a galactical debt, or something like that." Bill said.

"I'm not sure 'galactical' is a word, but you've got the right idea." Jesse took off the head rig and yawned, showing small, sharp canines.

"But we're mercenaries. We don't have to listen." Wolf pointed out.

"I don't know about you, but I don't want a Rekuva hunter force after me. We just got the full publishing of their ship designs. Scary, scary stuff." Bill said. "Frankly, it doesn't make sense. They're so advanced in destructive technology, and yet they pledge to be humanitarians and peace-lovers."

"You must wonder if that's how it's always been." Peppy said very slowly, pressing his fingertips together and half-closing his eyes.

The rest of the group fell silent, considering this.

"I think you've just stumbled across something… intriguing." Jesse said, chewing on the end of a tool, eyes distant. "We're going to have a meeting in the morning. I think we're going to have to be very, very careful about this. Very careful indeed."


	2. Chapter Two: Family Ties

Chapter Two: Family Ties

            Katt smiled, leaning over the edge of the temporary holding pool, thrusting her arms into the water. The long form coiled at the bottom of the pool rose to meet her, breaking the surface with a spectacular shower of water, the deep eyes looking into hers as she scratched at molting scales, the wide mouth yawning. Boomer was still sleepy from being woken up from his cool sleep, the tag dangling from his ear. The scientists knew that Boomer was Katt's, and they saw fit to tell her he would be put in a designated water reserve with the rest of the dragons and dolphins they had brought with. They would not be released on their unnamed home, oh no, that was risky to the planet and the creatures. Instead they would carefully clear and fence off an area off the under-construction coastal science base, and release the animals there, to be monitored as needed.

            "Hi, Boomer." She heard herself whisper, and the dragon replied with one of the signature base-thumping cries of the Zoness sea-dragons. "How was your nap?"

            Boomer slipped back underwater, rolling absently in the small holding pool, thrashing about, and breeched as well as he could. The yearling was almost too big for the pool, but they could do no better for now. After feeding him, she left that wing of the ship, walking down the now-busy corridor. More and more scientists were being woken up, Falco was joking that currently they were a society made up of 70% eggheads, 30% jarheads. She had laughed and agreed then, the scientists were all busy, thousands were laboring and still they seemed to be understaffed.

            She hesitated before pressing the button, leaning next to the intercom. No passcode got you through this door, only explicit permission did. She knew Beltino had clearance, but that was about it.

            "Yes?"

            "Hi Andross. Can I come in?"

            "Katt Monroe? Of course!" Andross grinned, sitting back in his chair and stretching his arms wearily. So much to do, so little time to do it in, and sometimes he felt so damnably old… but ah well, he would make a difference. He had to.

            She came in, looking around the lab. It was quiet compared to the rest of the ship. She saw the dinosaur-like ET AI prowling on the screen, and what looked like a tiger-striped lemur was lying across Andross' shoulders, hands folded and double-tail raised in a question-mark shape. "How are things here?"

            "Working on the decay model for Talar'dan'i'." He replied. "A request from your friend Jirest. It's obvious, really. Corneria was doing this, a few centuries ago, before we realized what we were doing." He scratched the lemur under the chin absently. "Have you met my little assistant?"

            "Not as of yet, no."

            "Introduce yourself." Andross extended his arm, smiling when the lemur walked out onto it and sat up, extending a hand to shake with Katt.

            "I am Batenani, Ani for sort." The lemur said in a soft, lisping voice. "I am Andross' daughter and help him here."

            "A pleasure to meet you." Katt's eyebrows shot up, but she wasn't surprised. Of course whatever Andross made would speak… "Daughter?"

            "Not genetically, but emotionally." Andross let Ani climb back, smiling. "My creations are always my children. We're rather a clan of adoption. It keeps me happy. I can't have kids of my own."

            "Makes sense." She sat down, looking at the AI on the screen, which was playing video games. She blinked and looked back at Andross. "Guess I should get to the point, eh?"

            "I don't mind purely social calls, but they just don't seem to exist nowadays." Andross shook his head. "What's up?"

            "I'm worried about some things… you seemed like the most logical choice." She sighed. "Do you know anything about Rekuva biology?"

            "Is that a trick question?" He replied in Rekuva.

            "Wise guy. Look, we have a Rekuva on board named Jirest, he's been with us a while, he's a good friend of all of us." She glanced away. "But… he lost most of one of his antennae. He seems to be going blind now."

            "I've read about it." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Rekuva antennae are very, very connected to their entire nervous system, all of their senses. Vision, scent, touch, and hearing are all linked to them. They've been trying to correct the problem of antennae loss for many years, but a good solution has never been found."

            She sighed. "Well, he's lost his position within the Rekuva fleet because of his disability, so we've taken him in as a liaison officer. He's been kowtowing to Fox ever since, let me tell you. And Wrin seems to be staying with him to help him, which means she's given up her position as a ship commander."

            "I'll look into it for you."

            "Thanks." She stood, hesitating.

            "Anything else?"

            "You… you have one of those spiders from Talar'dan'i', don't you?"

            "Yes, of course. You guys were the ones that procured one for me, and I've convinced the High Command to let me study it." He blinked. "Why?"

            "She won't talk about it, but Wrin took me aside. One of them bit Fara, and she went into labor not long after that. She's fine, and Hope is healthy and bright-eyed, but…" She scratched under one of her ears. "But I always get an odd feeling around them. Like something is wrong."

            "I'll intensify my study, of course. I echo your concern."

            She smiled and pecked him on the forehead absently. "Thanks, Andross."

            He watched her skip out, shaking his head. "Honestly, women. Why hasn't Falco married that girl yet?" He turned back to his screen and cued up the information on the spiders, reading through it again. He agreed with Katt, something about the timing of the mentioned events just plain stunk, but he hoped that whatever it was, it wasn't anything bad. Fox had gone through enough already.

            "Taking off on us eh?" Fox said, grinning as he watched Bill finish loading his personal effects into the cargo bay of his fighter.

            "My team is being reinstated. Husky Unit is going to be the official patrol group for Beta." Beta was the temporary name for the colonizable moon, Alpha being the planet itself, and Omega being the empty moon. "Not that I don't love living in chaos, but you know how it is. Duty calls and I come trotting, tail a-wagging." He grinned and clapped hands with Fox. "Besides, way I hear it as soon as this old bird gets refitted, you're off to play hero again."

            "Ha! Nope, just to bitch at a certain blockade. Or so I'm told." He lifted his hand in a salute. "Take care of yourself, Bill."

            "Kiss the kid for me, Fox." Bill grinned, swinging into his fighter, and launched, the custom rig boosting away, twirling in a fancy flip as a way of waving goodbye.

            "Well, that's one less bedroom taken up, eh?" Falco said, leaning on the door of the launching bay.

            "Yep, so it would seem. I hear Katt's taking off, too." Fox joined him, walking with him down the corridor.

            "As soon as the base is built." Falco sighed, shaking his head. "I don't want her to go, Fox."

            "Then ask her not to, dim bulb." Fox shoved at him playfully. "Don't be so damnably shy. She'll stay in a heartbeat if she thinks she's wanted, you know that."

            "Yeah, but… I don't know if its right, you know?"

            "What's wrong about it?"

            Falco couldn't find an answer for that.

            The Great Fox swung in a slow circle, watching the mother ships shed their feathered wings in bursts of fire, the scraps being towed away by construction droids. Arspace had been praised before, but no one had realized just how brilliant those engineers and technicians really, truly were.

            One by one, the wings blew off, and the mother ships started a dance of stunning complexity, so close it was shocking, Blue Angels on a size unparalleled. Arms extended, slowly at first, reaching with the uneasiness of a newborn, then linking, pulling the mother ships toward each other. In a final blinding flash of light, the ships joined, and two interlocked rings had formed, ten mother ships had come together to form each. It was a colony hub.

            The entire StarFox team found themselves plastered to the observation windows, watching with wide amazed eyes as the construction droids abandoned the wings, which made their own blinding flashes, blowing apart to reveal other components, other forms which flew to join with the hub.

            When all was said and done, the mother ships had become a single station shaped like a Moibus strip, but thick, a true colony hub built to research, construct, and support. It was beautiful.

            "Beltino is a genius." Peppy finally said, staring at the hub with awe in his eyes.

            "He watched a lot of Transformers as a kid." Jesse smiled. "So did I."

            "Jesse? You…?" Jirest blinked, nodding at the station.

            "I helped. I am a robotics expert, all of that had to be automated with the push of a button. All of it had to be coded flawlessly, we are talking thousands of pages of code. Well worth it though."

            "God, I thought Slippy was smart." Falco said, making Slippy snort and shove him.

            "Forgive me for saying this, Slip." He smiled sourly. "Slippy is a better programmer then I'll ever be, but he will never beat me in robotics. He's about twelve points short of genius, while I'm twenty-five points over."

            "Holy crap. Two smart guys on our ship. Guess that means our arwings will never break down eh?"

            Slippy shoved Falco again with a laugh, which cut off abruptly when Jesse blurted a reply. "Uh, actually, just one, Falco. I'm a transsexual."

            The silence which had preceded due to formation of the hub was nothing to the silence that pounded now as everyone stared at Jesse, blinking, faces blank.

            Fara laughed, head tossed back, Hope asleep in her arms. "Decided to break the secret, eh? Brave man."

            Wolf only smiled, knowing that meant that Jesse trusted everyone, and that it was a good thing. It would take a while to adjust, but who cared? Jesse wasn't changing, he already had, and was just informing people of that fact.

            After about two minutes, Jesse wove a hand in front of Falco's face, who hadn't changed his expression the entire time—blank incomprehension. "Wheel is spinning, hamster is dead." He finally said with a weak smile. "I was born a girl, but I've got a psychological thing, I've got a male personality and mentality. I take testosterone and all, but genetically and currently physically, I'm female. Pisses me off to no end."

            There was another long silence, then Fox tossed his hands up. "Jesse, you helped bring my kid into the world, you could practice voodoo and drink blood and I would still have a hard time finding a fault in you. Just don't give me details."

            Jesse laughed. "Thanks, Fox."

            Falco's brain finally caught up, and he sputtered. "But you… and he…" He looked to Wolf, then back to Jesse. "How…? But then… Argh!" He shook his head and stomped off. "Why do my team mates have to be such weirdoes?!" He asked over his shoulder, standing in the doorway for a second.

            Wolf pegged a crumbled soda can off his head.

            General Pepper sighed, prying the cap off the beer bottle absently, staring out at the new hub. The official word now was that he could relax. Talar'dan'i' was closed, so their business with that was on hold for now. The hub was built, and their first colony's modules were being constructed to be landed within a week. Patrols were set up, the list of the first people awakened was set, everything was according to plan.

            Except, of course, the trouble with the Rekuva. Tordak's ship the Cold Cry had been recalled, and he hadn't been heard from since. Now they had a new overseerer, but at least she hadn't tried to boss him around yet. The Vun had been the most helpful, ignoring the issue with the Rekuva and helping them plan their colonies, their glittering childlike eyes shining as they revealed mystery after mystery to the scientists of Lylat. The Galaxy council checked in, but didn't reprimand the Rekuva. It wasn't their business, they had deemed, but Pepper thought it was very well damn their business.

            He took a swig absently, slouching further into his seat. Either way, he needed a few days to relax.

            His comlink chirped, and he sighed, lifting a hand to his headset. "Pepper here. What? I'm on temporary leave of duty."

            "We know sir." It was Reeve, his current Second in Command. "You know we've been waking people up as needed, and, well… that included a host of medical staff."

            "Well, yes, of course. What about it?" He played with the bottlecap, mind wandering. He was probably going to sleep most of his leave time away, but gods, he needed it…

            "Well, sir… We've got a doctor here who wants to see you."

            "Tell them to wait until I'm back on duty." He took a drink, lifting a hand to turn off the radio and remove it.

            "But sir! She's claiming to be your wife. Sir." Reeves blurted, sounding bewildered.

            The bottle slipped from his hand, and beer splattered over the floor.

            Nancy worked her fingers against each other, ears pressed back against her slender skull, shivering nervously in the cold meeting room. She couldn't believe that she had done this, not after the trouble she had gone through to make very damn sure she'd never see Charles again, nearly twenty-five years ago. It had seemed so necessary then, she had been so young, so damn young and arrogant and angry. Now, nearing fifty-five, she was wiser, and almost painfully regretful of what she had done.

            It had made so much sense then! She felt like she had hated him, she had wanted to get away from him. She had changed planets, switched names, done everything she could think of. And now, here at a new home, she felt… changed. She wanted to have a new beginning. She could do that even at this age, right? Even an old dog could learn a few new tricks, right?

            The door opened, and Pepper froze with his hand still wrapped around the knob, slowly lifting a hand to take off his mirrored sunglasses. The woman sitting at the table waiting for him was older then he remembered, but that delicate beauty he had loved so much was still there, the radiance was still there. Pain thundered his heart, confusion. Why now, after so long? After he had been so certain she was gone forever from his life?

            "Hi, Charles." Nancy smiled weakly, standing, brushing her skirt out. She was a greyhound, still thin and athletic in her age, silver fur accumulated on her jaw and around her eyes.

            "Nancy." He stepped in and closed the door, setting his sunglasses on the table after a moment, not looking at her. What would he say, after twenty-five years? Bitter words? Plead? He didn't know how to feel.

            "Did I come at a bad time?"

            "No. I'm on leave for now. High Command felt I needed it."

            She chuckled weakly. "I didn't know you were even Commanding General until the war… made it easy to find you."

            "Your lack of knowledge is no fault of mine, Nancy."

            Her face fell. "That's unfair."

            "No, it isn't." He turned back, his naturally sad eyes full of old pain. "You left me, old love. You flew into a rage and left me."

            "I wouldn't put it quite like that." She finally said, looking away, unable to meet his gaze.

            "Why did you come here? You should have known some wounds can not be healed. I never remarried."

            "Neither did I." She said carefully. "I had to come here, Charles, I had to."

            "Why?"

            There was a very long silence, and she turned back, wiping at one of her eyes. "Because I was wrong."

            "I'm so glad you admit that, finally." He sat down roughly.

            "God, you haven't changed have you?" She snapped, suddenly furious. "Still the bossy military man, unable to admit to having a flaw."

            "I have plenty of flaws. But I was not the one that left, Nancy." He spread his hands. "You never explained why you left. I know we were fighting, but was it only that?"

            She moaned, sitting down across from him. "You were married to your work, not to me. We barely saw each other, and when we did, all we did was fight. But you weren't willing to change your hours, Charles."

            "Neither were you." He replied gently. "And that's not true. As far as I know, I'm still married to you. I never had it annulled."

            "Neither did I."

            After a long moment he pulled his dog tags out from under his shirt and held them up to the light, letting her see the gold band that was looped through the chain, sparkling dully in the light. She weakly held up her hand, showing the ring, not meeting his eyes.

            "So what happens now?" She finally asked, tugging one of her ears nervously, looking away. Twenty-five years. A lifetime. But it felt like nothing had changed. They were older, wiser, more scarred by time, but both felt the flickers of an old fire, and they knew it.

            "I don't know." He replied honestly. "For starters, I can get you quarters on this cruiser, if you like. We do need to talk about things."

            She lifted an eyebrow. "Offering your wife of thirty years her own room? That's interesting."

            "Have mercy, I've slept alone twenty-five of that." He grumbled, standing. "One of my aides will arrange it for you."

            She stood and caught his hand. "Charles?"

            "Hm?" He turned back, feeling old and worn.

            She looked up at him for a few moments, then drew him into an uncertain hug. He jumped, then returned it helplessly, eyes closed, wanting to let himself believe that everything was going to be all right, but somehow doubting it.


	3. Chapter Three: Kill Zone

Chapter Three: Kill Zone

            The Great Fox came out of warp and did a slow, lazy circle a safe distance from the blockade, letting its crew study the Rekuva formation from a distance. They were well outside the danger zone, but the Rekuva knew the ship. Their willingness to go into battle, as well as their utter ferocity and refusal to give quarter, had earned the Star Fox team a reputation in the Galaxy already.

            Fox sat back in his chair, looking out the front view ports, rubbing along the bottom of his muzzle. Falco leaned back from the radar station and looked at him as the others did. They knew how dangerous Rekuva cruisers could be, and these were defensive ships, specialized to fend off the most vicious attackers. Before, they had faced three light cruisers, now there were fifteen defensive cruisers looking at them warily.

            "The chance of us getting through that is roughly zilch." Fox finally announced. "Any other opinions?"

            "Can't agree more." Peppy said, remembering ship designs with detail. "We'd need an army of aces to do so."

            Fara walked over to the window, holding Hope, who was asleep against her chest, tiny hands clutching her shirt. She had a soft spot for the Rekuva, they had rescued her from certain death by suffocation, brought her back to her team, to her fiancé. One had helped deliver her child. But that cold formation between them and the information on Talar'dan'i' was a contradiction to everything she knew about the Rekuva. "They won't even negotiate, will they?" She asked over her shoulder, making it more of a statement, slightly swaying as she snuggled her sleeping child.

            "They're ignoring our pages." Slippy said, looking at the blinking radio. "I doubt they'll talk to us unless we cross their perimeter, and then it'll be just to bitch at us to get back behind the line."

            "This is ridiculous." Falco spat, crossing his arms. "What the hell are they hiding?"

            "Well, whatever it is, it must be a lot." Fox said, fingertips pressed together, elbows propped on the armrests of his seat. "Which worries me."

            "What are you kidding, it worries all of us, Fox." Katt said, leaning against Falco's chair. He wrapped an arm around her, leaning his head against arm without thinking about it. She ruffled his feathers softly.

            "We've got power signatures." Jesse said, pushing a pair of VR glasses up to his forehead, frowning at the readout screens. "Their hyperdrives are warming up in unison. Something's going on."

            "Page them again, Slip." Fox said, bringing up different displays on the screens around his seat, looking at a 3D image of the ship, which indicated that Jesse was right, the Rekuva cruisers were preparing for warp. "Somehow I doubt they suddenly changed their minds."

            Even as he said that, the cruisers disappeared, the Great Fox rocking in the ethereal wake of their drives. Left in their place were defensive satellites, wrapping the planet in a pale orange shield, protecting the satellites as well.

            "What the hell?" Wolf demanded, hands on his hips, staring at the screens. "Gone, a long way out of our range."

            "Heading for the Galaxy fringe, from what trails I caught." ROB said, mapping them. "They're moving away from the galaxy core."

            Which meant they weren't going home, of course, because the Rekuva's main systems were toward the base of the Galaxy arms. "Why the hell are they heading for the fringe?" Katt wanted to know.

            "We'll figure that out later. Is there any way through those?" Fara asked, gesturing at the shield satellites.

            "Not that I've figured out." Slippy said, typing madly, the satellite's design in one window, furiously coding in another, running scenario after scenario. "A supernova…"

            "Oy, that'll help us, Slip." Falco rolled his eyes.

            "Map update from the Galaxy Fed." ROB interrupted everyone, downing the lights and filling the bridge with the 3D holographic map. Fox went crosseyed, batting at the sun that hung between his eyes absently, then looked around at the color swaths.

            New Lylat had been added, a small glowing spot of gold, which had been designated their territory color. Most of the map was the sea-green of the Galaxy Fed, with stripes and spots of red and blue—select territories of the Rekuva and Vun, respectively.  The map spanned three and a half galaxies, three spirals and the starting of a map for a cluster galaxy, all of which was marked the orange used for colonization.

            But as they watched, that orange section started pulsing violet.

            "What's that mean?" Peppy glanced at ROB, suddenly uneasy.

            "It means…" ROB checked the database, and made a choking noise. "Oh. Oh no. Let this be wrong."

            "What?" Fox demanded.

            "It's a FAKK territory." Jesse said, VR glasses slipping from his hand to dangle by the cord, inches from the ground. "A kill zone. Someone just commanded that everything in that area be wiped clean."

            "Plot a course for Alpha." Fox snapped at ROB. "We'll deal with Talar'dan'i' later. This takes precedent."

            "They didn't map all of the colonization territories, but it's damn close. Of the dozen planets out there being colonized or terraformed, ten have been marked FAKK." Pepper's aide said, striding alongside him, looking at a clipboard as they walked.

            Pepper sighed, rubbing his eyes. He was never going to get a break. He gets one day off, and Nancy shows back up during it. Then, early the next day, they get a map update that seems to be certifying a massacre on a multi-system scale. "Ok, clarify for me. Just what do they mean by FAKK?"

            "Nuke the planet until it glows." The aide replied sourly. "Let nothing survive, and mark the planet as dead and to be avoided for the rest of eternity."

            "Holy Mother of God." Pepper said, entering the bridge, which was bustling. The 3D galaxy map hung in midair at the center, people ducking under it, passing coffee, talking. "All right, people, let's get this thing rolling. Stack'em pack'em rack'em."

            They paused to listen to him, then took their stations, turned to look at him as he looked at the map, shaking his head wearily. The map wasn't a mistake, they were sure of that.

            "Star Fox hear about this yet?"

            "They're already on the return. They'll be beside us in twenty minutes." Reported one of the people jockeying radar.

            "Any news from the Galaxy Fed?" He sat down, rubbing his chin, trying to think. No one in Lylat had the authority to order whole planets wiped clean without getting approval from someone. If anything, civilian protesters would have made the whole thing less then worth it.

            "Not yet. Just to stay out of it because it's too dangerous for an endangered species to bother with." This came from Caiman, who sounded disgruntled about it.

            "We're an endangered species now?" Pepper lifted an eyebrow.

            "Yep, one of the smallest percentages of the universe by far." Andross said, coming onto the bridge, Ani riding his shoulder. "Guess that'll give the most recent baby boom a good excuse, once we're up and running fully."

            "Fine, so we're endangered. Whatever." Pepper rubbed his eyes. "News to me. Anything else you know?"

            "I have my suspicions." Andross walked over to the map. "But I'll tell you what I do know.

            The Rekuva, in spite of their recent slightly shady dealings, are humanitarians to an end in this day and age. The Vun love life, as do the other more minor races of the GalFed. Big wars just don't happen anymore because no one wants people dead from it." He looked at the marked colonies, sighing softly. "So for the GalFed to declare a kill zone without giving a reason, something must be going on, and it's got to be serious."

            "Sounds logical." Pepper said, nodding once. "But what would be that serious? A plague? That could be cured. A rebellion we haven't heard about?"

            "Not likely." Said Caiman. "As Andross says, wars just don't happen here, and there isn't really anything to rebel against, especially on the fringe where control is fairly loose."

            "Great. So we have no idea what the hell is going on, in other words."

            "Sounds like it." Said Ani, fiddling with one of her tails. "But there has to be a reason. Everything has a reason."

            Andross sighed, staring out the window, thinking of the mechanical spider in its glass case, still twitching, refusing to die. "Not everything, little one."

            The Great Fox popped out of warp, falling into a lazy co-orbit with the Genesis, the smaller cruiser looking like some sort of moon to the huge dreadnaught. The trip had been spent in discussion, trying to figure out what the hell was going on, anyways, most of it happening in the kitchen. Wolf had made snickerdoodles, so Falco was rollerblading on the ceiling again, sugar high. Slippy was close behind, trying to get his gravity suit back and not having any luck thus far. Eventually Fox got Falco off the ceiling once they had arrived, and the group gathered on the bridge, all eager for an explanation.

            "Glad you're back, Fox." Pepper said, looking at them through the video feed. "I take it you heard about the most recent map update."

            "Been discussing it non-stop. What's going on? Jirest and Wrin can't think of any ideas why they would declare almost every colony a kill zone." Fox said, frowning. Hope was curled up in his lap, making happy noises, fascinated by his rank badges. 

            "That's the thing, neither can we. We're convinced that whatever it is, it must be serious, though." He sighed. "The GalFed isn't talking to us about it either, just that nothing's been done yet and they instated it as a 'big-ass warning,' quote end quote from our translator. Apparently whatever is out there, they don't want spreading any further then it has."

            "A disease?"

            "Or something. We've done some creative brainstorming, and Andross noted that all marked planets are on an open trade-route that is currently redlined by the GalFed." Pepper rubbed one of his temples meditatively. "Other then that, we don't know anything, but we did note that that same trade route used to swing by Alpha every now and then."

            "Ouch."

            "Yes. Look, I know you've got a lot on your… lap, Fox, but I'd like your team to leave soon and see if you can pick up any information on the fringe. Not immediately, we've got some stuff to do first, but I think we should keep a keen eye on this."

            "We'll be ready, General."

            "Andross wants a word, do you mind?"

            "No, not at all."

            The camera feed switched to Andross, who smiled weakly. "Busy times, eh Fox?"

            "Chaotic times. What's up?"

            "I need to borrow Jesse for a day. I'm not having any luck with the spider."

            "Sure Andross." Jesse bounced over, leaning over Fox's shoulder. "Be happy to help."

            "Thanks. Oh, and Wolf? We really ought to finish your mechanics up soon."

            "Just tell me when."

            "Thanks. I'm out."

            Jirest yawned, fighting the urge to scratch at his shortened antenna irritably. His vision was hazy still, but he was gradually compensating for it. He was able to read, which was good language practice. Bill hand loaned him some fantasy novels, so Jirest spent his idle time plowing through book after book, with an electric hand encyclopedia at hand to look up words or pictures.

            "Entity. Something that exists as a particular and discrete unit, the fact of existence, being." Jirest read out loud to himself, voice lazy, sleepy.

            "You really must be bored." Fara laughed, walking in and sitting beside Jirest, who smiled at her.

            "Where's Hope?"

            "Taking a nap. Wolf volunteered to watch her as she does so; he's got nothing to do without having Jesse to hang around with apparently." She glanced at the book. "Ah. Polishing up on your Cornerian, eh?"

            "Yes, indeed." Jirest looked proud. "It's actually pretty rare I can't understand something, but I need to verify a lot. Oh well… comes from speaking too many languages I guess…" 

            She chuckled. "I've heard that from a lot of polyglots."

            He paused, fiddling with his remaining antenna. "I… used to have a crush on you, you know. Or at least I think I did."

            She blinked. "What?"

            "Well, I, uh… You come from a beautiful race, that's all. I got starstruck, and I guess that my race worships mothers doesn't help too much." He turned away, blushing.

            She smiled after a moment. "I'm flattered, Jirest. You're a great guy, but you're not exactly my type."

            He laughed heartily, turning back. "Well, given this, I doubt I'm any Rekuva's type anymore." He gestured at the severed antenna.

            "So?"

            "It's a flaw, Fara. I can't see right. I can't even communicate right." His mood swung around, and he sighed, suddenly depressed. "What female wants a flawed male?"

            She stared at him, then clobbered him with a pillow. "You close-minded lout." She shook him by the shoulders. "Wrin is in love with you, stupid!"

            Jirest squirmed helplessly. "She just feels sorry for me!" He protested weakly, struggling. "I'm lower rank, and relieved even of that!"

            "Do you really think she'd leave her position of commander just to pity you, you twit?" Fara demanded, jabbing Jirest in the chest. The larger alien pouted, rubbing the spot. "Honestly, men. Some things just don't change." She stood, sighing. "Look, clear your head and think about it." She wandered off, and he watched her go, then turned back to his book with a sigh, rubbing his damaged antenna.

            Jesse examined the spider inside the glass case, which twitched, seeming to notice him. "So it never died?"

            "Apparently not. I think it was unconscious when Wolf dropped it off for me. The legs aren't in the best of shape, so it can't move too much, but every time I come in its in a different spot in the tank." Andross replied, watching Jesse and the spider both. "I haven't figured out how to interface to it, so it's just been trapped in here. I've heard from Beltino about your genius in robotics, so I figure you'd be the best person to give a chance."

            "I'm flattered." Jesse opened the glass case and lifted the spider out, setting it on a table and opening a tool kit. "Stay. Still." He ordered very precisely in the Rekuva's language, and started to work.

            Two hours later Andross was still sitting where he was, watching the work of a true genius unfold in front of him. Jesse had never seen anything like this, but he understood it somehow, and within an hour the spider was standing on four of its legs, passively holding out the other ones to be fixed, letting its main CPUs be exposed without protest.

            "Um… Doctor Andross, sir?"

            Jesse jumped, scattering a selection of tools across the table, and looked at the door. A slender male white mouse stood there, hands nervously fidgeting with a notepad computer, dressed in jeans and a polo shirt and looking oddly awkward in the outfit. Jesse sat back, welcoming the break in his concentration, murmuring in Rekuva code, soothing the nervous spider. "May we help you?"

            "I'm Drax Jantosh. The reporter?"

            Andross blinked, then sighed, looking embarrassed. "God, I'm sorry, I completely forgot. Jesse, this is Drax. He's a reporter originally from Corneria City, he's been writing a very nice piece about Lylat's exodus. He asked me for an interview."

            "Pleased to meet you. I'm Jesse Patterson. I work for Arspace, in robotics." Jesse grinned, assessing the obviously nervous mouse, noticing everything, the posture, the hold of the hands.

            "Sorry to interrupt. What exactly are you doing?"

            "Putting this thing back together." Jesse gestured at the spider, which had moved close to him, crouching, looking suspicious. "So we can talk to it."

            "Isn't that one of the spiders that attacked the StarFox team on Talar'dan'i'?" Drax crouched on his heels, studying the spider curiously, looking at the crystal eyes.

            "You're well informed. Yes, it is."

            "To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm the right person for you to talk to. I did assist Arspace, but the real people at the core of the exodus are the High Command and Star Fox." Andross remarked to Drax after several moments, who was watching as Jesse went back to work on the spider.

            "The High Command don't exactly give interviews, and I've heard true stories of Star Fox personnel striking reporters." Drax replied, shuffling a foot and looking at the ground. "Besides, as far as I've been told, Star Fox is shipping out in a few days."

            "So tag along." Jesse said, connecting a few last wires, and watching in satisfaction as the spider flexed all eight legs. "There!"

            "I somehow doubt they'd let me."

            "Sure they would. Hell, I'm part of the team now, I should now." Jesse grunted, hefting the spider over to the computer consoles and hunting for the connector on the spider's back. Finding none, he prodded the stomach. "Dammit, it won't tickle, help me out here." He bitched at the spider. "And what with Bill helping out on Beta, we've got room now."

            "I'll consider it." Drax turned to Andross, but Jesse ignored their conversation for the most part as he worked with the spider. It wasn't stuff he was interested in, he knew most of it. Something he had figured out was while the spiders understood Rekuva (mostly, since the dialect had changed over the years it was like translating old English to modern English), but they couldn't speak it, so he had to wire the spider into a computer so it could broadcast text to be translated. He grinned triumphantly when the cords finally patched, and the Rekuva writing started scrolling down the screen, the curvy writing which was the religious dialect he'd heard of.

            Andross started a translator automatically, and three watched the message translate, letters one by one swapping to Cornerian, words swapping places to fit grammatically. 

            _Time's cycle is never broken. History repeats itself, because it has no choice. It will again. We could not stop it last time. We are all in great danger._

            The spider looked at the three living people, middle section perked up, as if begging them to understand what it was trying to tell them.

            "In danger from what?" Drax wanted to know, and Jesse translated quickly to the spider.

            _The beast, the thing, the shadow that consumes all. The entity that ruins perfection to add to its hive._

            "The borg?" Jesse lifted an eyebrow, making Andross and Drax both smile just a bit. "It has to be something the GalFed knows about, right?" He looked at Andross.

            "Maybe, maybe not. How long of a time period are we talking here?"

            Jesse repeated this to the spider, rubbing his chin, thinking fast. For an immortal robot, the carrier of an ages-old Rekuva, to be frightened of something, it had to be serious. It took a lot to destroy the spiders, point-blank shots with a shotgun or hundreds of rounds from the suit's chain guns. He had picked shot out of the spider's legs from Fara's shotgun, in fact. What was so serious the spider feared it?

            _Thousands of years, hundreds, we never found out. There is no cure. Those infected must die._

            Andross blinked, the pieces falling together. "Jesse. It's talking about the FAKK zones."

            "What?"

            "Whatever it's talking about is what's driving the GalFed to declare the FAKK zones." Andross paced, rubbing his chin. "And the High Command wants to send Star Fox right into the lion's den, without permission from GalFed."

            "Well, then." Drax looked at Jesse. "I suppose I would like to come along."

            Jesse smiled sourly. "That said, maybe we should get going. Need help with anything else, Andross?"

            "Nope."

            "Good. You two play nice, now." He patted the spider and left, leading Drax, who only had to stop for a few moments to get a duffel bag from his room.

            Jesse was troubled, unable to help it. He wasn't sure he liked the fact that StarFox was going to be going right into the fire, so to speak, but at the same time, what little information the spider had given him intrigued him. A biological borg? He'd have to see about getting more information, he decided.

            In the mean time, Drax would probably keep him busy. He'd already decided that he'd have to teach the young mouse to relax. Hell, maybe he could even coax the others to help him with that.

            Fox and Falco were waiting for him when the shuttle touched down. "So, Andross' problem wasn't too intense eh?" Falco asked when he walked down the ramp.

            "Nah, not at all. Found out some interesting information, though. Seems we may be in more danger then we think." Jesse replied.

            Drax walked down the ramp, smiling nervously at Fox and Falco, glancing around. The docking bay was clean, at least for the most part, and the pair in front of him both radiated auras of relaxed authority. He had to wonder what in the world had possessed him to go through with this. He wanted to see everything up close, but being in close quarters with a group of people he didn't know was sure to drive him up the wall.

            "Look what I found." Jesse suddenly added, pointing at Drax. "He followed me home! Can I keep him?!"

            Drax jumped, watching the pair laugh, wincing when Falco slapped him on the back, the strong hand gripping his shoulder briefly, feathers brushing his neck. While Fox almost casually was in uniform, Falco wasn't bothering, wearing a red tank-top and tight black jeans, subtle cologne rising off his feathers. Drax winced away from Falco, suddenly even more nervous then before.

            "So you're the reporter Andross just radioed us about, eh?" Falco said. "Welcome aboard."

            "T-thank you." Drax managed to say, shivering. "I was told, uh, er, you had a room open now…"

            "Of sorts, yes. I assume you'll show him around Jesse?" Fox looked at Jesse, who just grinned mischievously. "Now, now. Do be nice to him, we're not going to let you keep him if you're mean." Drax squeaked, and Fox laughed. "I'm kidding. God, lighten up. Jesse will show you around, and relax, he doesn't bite."

            "How do you know that?" Falco asked.

            "Ok, correction, he only bites Wolf. That said, let's go find out what's for lunch."

            Jesse led Drax to the personnel quarters, where Legs was waiting in the hallway, thumping down the hall at top speed (that is to say, about two miles an hour) to hug Jesse's legs with his front pair, butting is main body against his knees and knocking Jesse on his rear, the mongoose laughing the whole time. Drax stepped back and watched this with mild amusement, the robot was kicking a foot as Jesse scratched one of its joints.

            "Ok, well, the one on the left at the end is on yours." Jesse pointed. "All of the bedrooms have bathrooms connected, so don't worry about that. There's a computer terminal in there too, so if you need anything, just ask and ROB will hook up to it so he can talk to you." He stood slowly, one hand still patting his robot. "The level above us has the kitchen, dining hall, and den, the weight room and sick bay are around the corner. Any questions?"

            "Yes, what do people smoke to relax so much?"

            Jesse laughed, kissed Drax on the forehead, and skipped off, Legs trotting after.

            Drax stood there blankly, and rubbed his forehead. "Well. He's intuitive." That said, he turned and went to the door indicated, wondering how long he'd last before these people drove him nuts.


	4. Chapter Four: Entity

Chapter Four: Entity

            "A little less conversation, a little more action..." Wolf hummed to himself, dicing onion, glancing at the clock. He had an hour until dinner was normally served, so he had some time to relax and do things right. On a self-sustaining ship, everyone took on two or more duties, whether it was just assisting with ship maintenance, or taking a secondary job, such as he had. He enjoyed it though, maybe he'd open a restaurant, like his friend had years before. "All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me…" The onion was dumped into a waiting pot of water, and he walked into the fridge, rooting through the vegetable bins. It was low-humidity storage, their fresh vegetables often lasted six months without a problem. "A little more bite and a little less bark, a little less fight and a little more spark…"

            Drax, who had been wandering the ship, miserably lost on Jesse's instructions, heard Wolf's voice and cautiously stuck his head through the kitchen door. No one was obviously there, but the stove was on, and the walk-in refrigerator was open. As he watched a lupine walked out, eyes closed and ears covered by headphones, halfway dancing, arms loaded with an assortment of fresh vegetables, kicking the fridge door closed behind himself. Drax double-taked, slipping through the door quietly and standing there, watching.

            "Close your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy me, satisfy me baby." Not noticing he was being watched, Wolf dropped his load gently into the sink, and began to peel the carrots absently, tail thumping his leg energetically. Wolf had never been in choir, usually he just sang to keep himself awake or focused, so his voice slipped out of key every now and then, but hey, it was Elvis, so it wasn't too hard to follow or out of his range.

            Drax pulled out a chair and sat, taking his notebook PC out of his pocket and writing, the trained touch screen scrolling text without making an error. He was willing to bet this was a side of Star Fox no one had seen before. He had already figured out who this figure was, the cybernetics gave it away, if anything. So this was Wolf O'Donnel, the infamous pilot, peeling vegetables and singing Elvis tunes like he was the King himself. That imagery made him grin and chuckle, but Wolf didn't notice, wrapped up in what he was doing. It let Drax take a good long look at him without worrying about staring, studying the complex cybernetics that meshed with Wolf's fur without ruining his appearance, the casually authoritative stance that spoke of a natural alpha-wolf personality, the simple air of happiness. This wasn't the camera-ducking wing commander the news had first captured when the remaining forces of Venom had rejoined Lylat to help with the exodus, this was someone entirely different, renewed.

            "Baby close your eyes and listen to the music drifting through a summer breeze, it's a groovy night and I can show you how to use it, come along with me and put your mind at ease…" Wolf trailed off at the end of the line, hackles going up, finally noticing the heavy feel of someone's gaze on him. Not Jesse, he figured, Jesse would have pounced and started dancing with him. He set the potato down and took his headphones off, looking at the table, managing not to jump in surprise. "Well. I just made a right bloody fool out of myself in front of the reporter, now didn't I?" That came out amazingly calm, given his blush-burning ears. He never, ever sang in front of others. Never.

            Drax grinned. "I'm not sure about the fool part, but yes, I am the journalist that has the privilege of accompanying your team."

            "Privilege? Oh, please, we're regular people." Wolf picked the vegetable peeler back up, shoulders hunched, still blushing.

            "Regular people aren't heroes, now are they?" He stood and walked over, putting the computer back in his pocket. "So, I take it you're cook now?"

            "Mm-hmm. I volunteered for the job actually. I like cooking, always have." Wolf washed off the potatoes and began chopping them up and setting them in a bowl so he could add them later. "So if you have any requests for dinner, I'm the person to talk to, if anything I'll make you assist as a way of payment."

            "Good to know." Drax studied the tribal etchings that wrapped down Wolf's mechanical arm. "These are interesting. Let me see if I can still understand the pattern…" Not noticing Wolf's surprised look, Drax tilted his head, looking at the very particular way the waves crossed. "Three claw slashes, overlaid by two squiggly lines. Snow Walker wolf pack right? Inner city gang that used to run around Corneria City?"

            Wolf almost dropped the vegetable peeler, swallowing hard. It had been a long time since he had ran into someone who understood the very precise pattern of his tattoo, Falco got the general idea but didn't see the underlying code. It was an echo from across the ages, from before writing really existed, from before true sentience, there was pack code, claw swipes in mud or bark to leave messages, simple things. 'Bad water.' 'Our pack!' 'Home.' Even, against all reason according to scientists, 'love.' Wolves had always been social creatures, so language developed around that concept, that core belief of pack. "Yeah. Snow Walker pack. I ran with them a long time ago."

            "And fought with them, according to this… 'fights for family.'" Drax glanced up and Wolf's face, which was still echoing shock. "… Oh. Sorry. I did a piece on the inner city wolf gangs a few years ago… one of them was nice enough to tell me about the tattoos and give me a piece of paper detailing the different glyphs and such. I took it upon myself to memorize it."

            Wolf smiled, turning back to what he was doing, clearing his head. "Well, you're one of the few non-lupines that really understands it then."

            Both were quiet for a few minutes, Drax leaning back against the counter, Wolf continuing to prep dinner, both absorbed in their thoughts. Wolf's mind wandered the past, then returned, happier with his current status in life. In a real wolf pack, he was always on the perimeter, because he couldn't get close to the true alpha without feeling threatened somehow. One of the reasons he liked Fox so much, he supposed, they where both leaders without getting on each other's nerves. Wolf actually didn't mind being under Fox's command at all. He glanced at this newest addition out of the corner of his eyes, Drax was whistling, apparently able to hear the music trickling from the headphones that still hung around his neck, making Wolf smile, removing the CD and dropping it into the CD player on the counter, gesturing for Drax to press play as he turned back to the sink, setting his headset aside. He was going to get along with the new addition just fine, he had decided.

            The Great Fox turned and boosted away from the Hub, engines engaging in full only after they were at a safe enough range. It was all automated, of course, Fox had set up the route with ROB several hours earlier.

            Fara sighed, sitting where she had before Hope was born, but now with her legs tucked under herself, blanket draped over her shoulder, letting her mind wander as Hope fed. Hope was a demanding baby, if she was hungry, she was hungry NOW, and god forbid any delays. She ate a lot too—making up for being premature, Fara supposed, getting more weight so she could grow faster. It didn't bother Fara, there was something instinctually satisfying about feeding Hope anyways.

            She brushed her fingertips over her child's soft hair, listening to the contented mumbles and watching out of half-lidded eyes as the others finalized things, getting the final clears from the Hub and the High Command. The Great Fox had gotten some slight cosmetic make-overs, the last twenty-four hours had seen some walls moved around, but it hadn't been anything significant. The rest of the team had come to an agreement without Fox and Fara knowing, and in the end Falco and Katt officially bunked together, Katt's old room being emptied so Fox and Fara's room could be enlarged and Hope could have her own room. The Great Fox was modular on some degrees, so it hadn't taken all that long. Fox was still thanking everyone, Fara contented herself with merely smiling.

            "We'll be staying on the very edge of the FAKK zone, just to be safe." Fox was saying, talking to General Pepper. "What with the fact that Andross is saying that it's apparently very dangerous, I don't want to take any risks."

            "Works for us. Oh, what to speak to Garis? He's looking a bit contorted." This was added on, Pepper smiling just a bit. 

            "Sure, I need the vocal exercise." Fox sat back and crossed his arms as the camera switched to annoyed-looking Admiral Garis. "Afternoon, Admiral."

            "Commander. So, why exactly didn't you finish your mission on Talar'dan'i'?"

            "I determined that the odds were against us. It's that simple."

            "You had orders, Commander."

            Falco leaned over the back of Fox's chair. "Admiral, you can take your orders and…"

            "Hey, hey! Young ears." Fara said quietly, cutting Falco off. "I'd like her first word to be something other then a cuss word, Falco."

            "You got it, babe."

            "Who was that?" Garis blinked, lifting his eyebrows at Fox.

            "My fiancé. She can't speak right now, she's feeding our daughter."

            "You're taking a baby into the FAKK zone?!"

            "As opposed to what, leaving her with a nanny?" Fox snapped. "Garis, we're departing, and do yourself a favor. Stop bothering us." He turned the radio off, sighing. "What does that guy have against us…"

            "Eh, he's just jealous." Falco replied. "Let's get going, we're going to have to spend like eight or nine hours in warp."

            ROB glanced at Fox, then nodded, and the Great Fox leapt into warp, disappearing in a streak of light.

            "So, there they go." Pepper sat back and yawned, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Can I go on vacation now?" He looked at the other on-staff members of the High Command. "I have some things I have to work out."

            "Go ahead, General. Your last leave was interrupted, so you're more then welcome to." Replied one of the other Admirals, who had been scowling at Garis.

            Pepper left the bridge, fighting the urge to stagger as he walked to his quarters. He hadn't been sleeping much lately, for a wide variety of reasons. Lylat's populous was finally safe, and yet he had to send some of his favorite people back into what could very quickly become a battlefield. Not to mention the sudden reappearance of his wife, who he hadn't really thought about in a while.

            No, that wasn't right. He thought about her a lot. He had missed her since she had suddenly left without a word, spending a lot of sleepless nights alone, staring at the digital clock, breathing through the eternities before the numbers changed and wondering what he had done that had driven her away from him. But he had been resolved before, sure that she'd never be in his life again, only to have her suddenly arrive, practically landing in his lap from nowhere. He wasn't sure yet if it was a good or bad thing, but it was just more sleepless nights for him.

            He flopped down in a chair in the officer's galley, setting his chin on his folded arms and closing his eyes wearily, wondering if it was worth it to see about a several-hours-late breakfast. He doubted it, he was too damn tired to even bother going to his quarters, his overly-long whiskers rubbing his forearm as he yawned. He felt so old.

            The few others in the officer's galley left when they saw him, partly out of respect, partly because they saw he wasn't in the mood for company, and he barely noticed, sinking deeper into his thoughts. He didn't realize his surroundings until a hand brushed the back of his neck, moving one of his ears from where it had flopped over his shoulder to laying properly, the same fingers resting on his shoulder.

            "Looks like I came back just in time, didn't I?"

            He looked up wearily. "Hello, Nancy. What do you mean?"

            "You look a decade older then you really are, old love." She replied gently, sitting down next to him and taking one of his hands in both of hers. He didn't argue, sighing. "You're giving in, aren't you?"

            "I did tell you once, didn't I?" He laughed softly, shaking his head. "Yes, I have arthritis in my hips. It's not bad, it only shows up on X-rays, and I'm only sore in the morning, but I do." He yawned and sat up the rest of the way, leaning back. "Given my family history, I've got five or eight years left, max. You know that. Mastiffs don't live long, and that's for the most part what I am."

            She shook her head and drew him close, leaning her muzzle against his. He blinked, and let his eyes flutter closed. Twenty-five years, how was it that they were just somehow picking up where they had left off, so old now, out of their primes, getting brittle with age? Like their happy ending had just been put on hold for a little while… "You'll live as long as you want to, Charles. And you're needed, you're more of a leader then any president ever was. You know that."

            "No, I'm not." He tried to turn away, but she held him there, and he didn't struggle, eventually just leaning in, humming softly as music trailed through his head.

            "God, you still have that damnable ear notch. I told you not to mess with the stitches then, and if you hadn't…"

            He broke away from her and laughed, the booming laugh echoing through the strangely empty officer's galley, shaking his head. "God, Nan, you never change do you? Still lecturing me about this stupid cut I got in a fight…" He grinned, remembering vividly their first meeting, after a bar fight, her the medical student patching him up afterwards in an empty treatment room, lecturing the entire time, firm and beautiful, talking until he cut her off with a kiss, probably the most passionate one he had ever given in his life, leaving her sputtering in embarrassment and bewilderment, trying to say something but not quite able to. He had been hooked since that very moment, and for a second he was there again, young again.

            "Prisoners of time, aren't we?" He finally remarked, running his hand through her rich silvering hair.

            "Not if we don't want to be."

            He chuckled and stood. "I'm going to get some sleep. I need it." Leaving her to sit in the officer's galley, whistling to himself.

_And being apart ain't easy in this love affair, two strangers learn to fall in love again… I get the joy of rediscovering you.. Oh girl, you stand by me I'm forever yours. Faithfully._

            The Great Fox came out of warp and slowed to a near-halt, engines winding down as it came into a perimeter orbit around the closest of the marked colonization planets. This was on the very edge of the FAKK zone, only a few warp marks within in fact, literally less then an hour's travel from the nearest unmarked cities. 

            "So where the hell are we?" Falco asked dryly, taking a drink from his coffee cup.

            "This is Versyi." Said Peppy, stirring cream into his. "It's a Rinaldi-colonized planet, their very first in fact."

            "I've never even heard of them."

            "First for most of us, believe me." Said Fox. "I had to have ROB bring up information when I saw it, in fact."

            "Want me to do the debriefing?" Drax suddenly said. They all turned and looked at him, and the mouse squeaked unknowingly, stepping back, slender fingers working against each other worriedly, eventually speaking back up. "I, I'm familiar with every race registered as sentient with the GalFed. I mean, not like I'm fluent in their language or anything, but I know about them."

            "You definitely know more then us then." Wolf managed a half-smile. "Fire away, Drax."

            "Well, uh… from what I've been led to understand, the Rinaldi don't get into the GalFed affairs. Their position in the union is strictly honorary." Drax fought the urge to twitch, rubbing one of his ears nervously. "They're an extremely long-lived race, with lifespans of about a thousand years, give or take. They stand about this high at the shoulder…" He put his hand about three feet of the ground, "And are about eight feet long. They're kind of a furry komodo dragon with eight legs and four eyes. When the GalFed arrived at their homeworld, they were still in a feudal-based governmental system, concentrating their technology on improving quality of living and agriculture, having no real interest in travel off-world. Their eyes never really turned to space because they thought they had more to worry about where they were." He trailed off, cleared his throat awkwardly, and continued. "As I know it, they only begrudgingly accepted the new technology, and still live in castles wherever they go. This is their first go at colonizing because they have such a slow reproductive cycle putting a significant number of their race off-planet would have endangered the entire species."

            The group slowly absorbed this, considering.

            "Ho, boy, this is going to be messy for GalFed to explain." Slippy said suddenly. "Sorry we wiped out so many of your people, but we didn't have a choice in the matter." He shook his head.

            "No kidding. What the hell is GalFed trying to do, break apart their entire alliance?" Falco said.

            "I imagine that isn't their main motive." Jesse said, thinking back to the spider and rubbing his jaw. "But that's what it may come down to. Fox, what's our ETA to Versyi?"

            "You know very damn well we're not supposed to touch down." Fox crossed his arms.

            "I don't think we have a choice anymore." Remarked a voice from the door.

            The group glanced up. Jirest was standing in the doorway, looking disturbed, Wrin standing beside him.

            "Where did your boss have to say?" Katt finally asked Wrin.

            "We didn't call in to speak to our former commanders." They sat down at the table, glancing at each other, and Wrin gestured for Jirest to speak.

            "I called in trying to reach Tordak. I imagine you all remember him. I heard a rumor that he was going to look into the world-devastators, as he was being recalled anyway and therefore would be close to the databases he'd need." Jirest paused, fingering his shortened antenna. "I called the mission base and gave the necessary data… I know it's right…" He choked off.

            Wrin finished, one of her antennae wrapping around his whole one, sharing her emotions with him, trying to sooth him. "They… They said… 'We have never had a ship commander by that name.'"

            The entire group was silent, then Fox stood. "Something about this is very wrong. We're going to Versyi. Everyone be geared up by the time we get there. We don't know what's going to be waiting for us."

            Versyi was a planet almost completely covered in a rainforest, wrapped with rivers like blue veins through green flesh. The Great Fox fell into a lazy orbit, studying the planet with passive scans, counting satellites. No orbiting base, only eight satellites, only one city, tangled up in the forest. It was fairly easy to see that only fighters or their smallest shuttle was going to be able to safely land. There were no designated areas for large craft.

            "Well, if he wants us to be prepared, we might as well go all out, right?" Falco remarked over his shoulder as he and Wolf loaded the suits into cargo, Jesse hovering nearby, typing one-handed on his laptop, following less then a step behind Falco as he configured the suit as he walked. "White-flash incendiary rounds?"

            "Sounds right." Wolf nodded once, removing the ammo clips and loading them into a rack, which was traded with one of ROB's robots for a rack of the right ammo. "Hyper-breaker slugs?"

            "Might do too much damage. White-flashes won't start large blazes, not on this place." Falco shook his head. "Bring your suit, we're gonna get wet."

            "I thought you weren't into that."

            Falco threw an empty ammo case at Wolf and turned back to what he was doing.

            "Hope you boys have fun down there." Fara remarked, standing at the ramp, wearing a backpack that allowed the sleeping Hope to ride behind her. "I'm out of action for the time being."

            "Don't worry, you'll get your day Fara." Wolf smiled.

            "You're lucky Jesse, you don't have this problem." Fara remarked as Jesse passed her, smiling.

            Jesse shared the smile. "Yeah… but I could."

            "We ready to ride?" Fox asked, walking over and giving his fiancé a hug, nuzzling her hair briefly, taking in her scent. A mother, he realized, she smelled like a mother. It was still Fara's scent, a scent full of sunshine and flowers, but something else had joined it, a subtle thing, and it was the scent of a mother: milk, warmth, happiness. He had to wonder if his scent was changing to match it, and brushed that thought to the back of his mind. Once this little mission was over, he told himself, he'd ask Fara if it had.

            "Ready as we'll ever be." Falco said. "How are we doing this anyway?"

            "Well, Jirest says that they should speak Galaxy Common, the problem is not many of US do yet." Fox sighed, rubbing his ears. Yeah, like many of them had time to learn a language lately… "Basically, Fara, Peppy, Slippy, and Jirest are staying here, if anything so they can save our asses should hell break loose. The rest of us are going to find the city and see what's going on. We haven't seen any hostiles on radar, so whatever it is it's a mystery to ROB."

            "All right. Let's move."

            The two shuttles, both small Cornerian-issue rigs, left the Great Fox and plunged through the atmosphere, rattling as rain slammed their hulls, finally descending through the mist and fog, hunting for a place clear enough to land and finding none. Wolf and Fox, who were each piloting a shuttle, ending up relaying continual messages to each other, and in the end landed in the river close enough to the bank to extend the ramps, the hydraulic metal legs reaching down to the muddy riverbed and anchoring as well as they could.

            "The rain, rain, rain came down, down, down, in rushing, rising rivlets…" Jesse sang, standing just under the overhang of the shuttle door, hands on his hips. "Ugh, I'm glad I did a thorough waterproofing. Don't bring out the suits until you guys need them, they'll bog down in this."

            "You should have told us that earlier, you know." Katt said, slinging an ammo bandolier over her shoulder. To a few people's surprise, she had volunteered to be one of the ones carrying heavy weapons, specifically, two railguns.

            "Guess we should start moving."

            The group moved out into the rain, boots splashing in mud and water, directed by Peppy and Fara by their tracking insignias, which showed up as blazing dots on the Great Fox's primary radar screen. Drax, who had come with them, wiped water away from his eyes as he strode with them. He had done field reporting before, sometimes on the front lines of battles, but this particular situation was new to him. In the heat of the rain forest, he wore hiking boots, cargo pants with many pockets, and a cargo vest over a white t-shirt, and everything he wore was soaked. The pockets were sealed against water, keeping his film and computer safe as he took a picture on the fly every now and then, mumbling to a small headset so his pocketed computer would take notes. The back of his vest had the words 'civilian reporter' printed across the shoulders in Galaxy Common, blazing white against the dark green soaking fabric. He should have been miserable, since he was bringing a new meaning to the phrase 'drowned rat,' but he wasn't. He smiled a bit, ducking under a branch as Fox held it for the others.

            "The kind of bush that makes Cambodia look like Kansas." Falco finally concluded, standing ankle deep in water, feathers dripping. His crest was up in spite of the water, and he was aware he must have looked ridiculous.

            "No kidding. Here, have some of this. You can taste home." Fox pulled out a pocket flask and passed it absently. Hard liquor was almost as important as a sidearm for a mercenary. A high-proof alcohol relaxed you, sure, but it also could start fires, clean wounds, and blind enemies. Fox personally preferred beer, but hey, couldn't always have what you wanted.

            "Movie nuts." Wolf said, laughing out loud. "I'm locking up the action flicks, even if you are speaking from experience."

            Katt shook, making the others protest as a fine mist of water lifted from her fur. "We've got a quarter-mile left, guys. Come on, we don't want to stay here longer then we have to."

            "No kidding." Jesse was sitting on a root, shivering, ears pressed back. He didn't like this forest. At all. Something was wrong here, but he didn't know what.

            "You chose to wear jeans why, exactly?" Falco asked, looking at the mongoose, who was miserable. He ended up staring, the water was ruining the masculine aura Jesse had. Now he saw the feminine form, the high cheekbones and curvy chest.

            Jesse scowled at him and continued to shiver.

            "Back off of him, Falco, he's a geek not a soldier." Wolf wrapped his jacket around Jesse's shoulders absently, not noticing Drax's look. "I agree with Katt, let's get moving. This place has an edge to it…"

            Ten minutes later, the group was standing in the middle of a city that, for all purposes, was abandoned. They had finished searching it, and hadn't found a trace of anyone alive.

            "This is not good." Jesse said, shoving his dripping hair back out of his eyes. "Meals half-done, letters half-written, TVs still on. It's like the set to a horror movie."

            "Couldn't have put it better." Fox said, holstering his gun, which had found its way to his hand when they had first walked into the village. "And too much damn rain to get a scent or track where they went."

            Wrin was on the exterior of one of the group, holding a child's toy which she had found in the mud, brushing one finger over the doll's face. "What would drive people to just drop what they were doing?" She wanted to know, voice frustrated, chattering angrily to herself.

            "I have no idea."'

            Falco, who had been prowling, suddenly shouted, scrambling back, gun pointed. The others joined him, guns drawn again, and saw one of the Rinaldi, having apparently crawled out of the surrounding forest. The alien looked bewildered by the guns being pointed at it, bunching its long body up, multiple feet and hands bracing automatically on the mud. Drax's description hadn't been too far off, they saw, the furry lizard looked at them through four blinking eyes, thick violet fur soaked and muddy, gaze confused and distant.

            Wrin crouched in front of the Rinaldi and started talking to it, head tilted to one side, trying to wave the others to lower their weapons and not succeeding. She was worried the minute she saw the Rinaldi up close. This young nem-male (the Rinaldi had six genders) couldn't have been more then a hundred years old, just barely on the edge of adulthood, but the gaze he looked at her with was confused, almost senile, as if he didn't truly understand her words. Strange grayish-brown leafless vines were tangled into the Rinaldi's fur, even wrapping down a few of the legs and around one eye. They weren't there by accident, she saw, every one was carefully placed.

            "We're here investigating. I am a commanding officer and my friends are soldiers of a race new to the GalFed." She said slowly, looking at the strange eyes that blinked at her. "What happened here? Where are your fellow colonists?"

            "Other parts are elsewhere." The Rinaldi shifted, scratching its neck absently, poking at part of the vine, which shifted after a moment. "Things needing to be done."

            "Everyone? Why is this city abandoned?" She frowned.

            "Parts come back later." He assured her, sitting down roughly, none of the grace the Rinaldi should have had apparent, voice drifting, happy.

            "What's going on?" Fox asked, stepping up next to Wrin, lowering his gun.

            "Something's wrong. I don't know what." She replied. "Rinaldi are… usually meticulous about their fur. If it gets dirty while farming, fine, but they won't let it get so muddy without a good reason. And… it's talking strangely."

            "Like how strangely?"

            "I…" She shifted, looking at the Rinaldi's eyes, and saw something click there. Fire. Comprehension. Like the gates preventing who was there from really speaking had opened. What was going on?

            "Parts are new." The Rinaldi looked at the Lylatians, then back to Wrin, tilting its slender head, gaze full of intellect beyond normality. "Why are parts here?"

            "We came to check on your people."

            "This part does not understand." He pointed at Fox's gun. "Part thought there was danger?"

            "Uh… Yes…" She came to a swift decision. "The GalFed has declared most of the fringe to be a FAKK zone. That includes this planet. They're going to come here and destroy everything. We wanted to know why."

            The Rinaldi recoiled. "They would destroy us? But we are important parts."

            "Why are you talking like that?" Wrin burst out in frustration. "Why are you so dirty?"

            He blinked all eyes at once. "This part does not understand…" He trailed off and turned his head, as if listening. "… Oh. Oh. This part is joined. This part is… connected, now. This part is happier because of it, don't you see?"

            "Uh. Guys?" Katt had turned around, her guns pointing in different directions. "They're everywhere."

            The group looked around, and Fox cussed vibrantly. They had been so focused on what was going on they hadn't noticed the other Rinaldi slipping out of the forest, six others that had surrounded the group, not armed, just standing and watching curiously.

            "This is not good. Not at all." Falco said as the group backed up into a tight circle, trying to watch for more arrivals.

            "New parts hurt this part?" The Rinaldi looked at Fox with confused eyes, and suddenly the vine shifted dramatically, one of the tendrils wrapped around a leg unwrapping and reaching up at Fox, edge brushing Fox's leg.

            Fox yelped and almost shot the thing, jumping back as a jolt traveled up his leg. "What the hell is going on?" He demanded, lips curled back in a snarl.

            "This is it. The thing the GalFed is so afraid of." Jesse said, voice strange. "The thing the spider tried to tell me about. The shadow. The Entity."

            "What is going on?" Fara asked, looking at Slippy.

            "I don't know ok?!" Slippy replied. "We just lost total radio connection. I've still got some staticy imaging, but that's quickly going as well. We're being jammed." He looked at ROB for confirmation.

            "Completely correct." ROB nodded once. "Our radar still has them, they aren't harmed, but someone doesn't want us listening."

            "Is there any way to get through?"

            "I don't think so, no." Said Peppy. "Near as our scans can tell, whatever is doing is isn't mechanical."

            "But how is that possible?"

            "… I don't know."

            Katt huddled under a blanket and sneezed, accepting a hot drink warily from one of the Rinaldi. The entire group had been herded into a house, and now they were being briskly taken care of. They hadn't been disarmed, no, the Rinaldi hadn't even tried to do that. But the rain had gotten even worse, and the Rinaldi Wrin had been talking to had spoken up.

            "Parts get sick, in this wet. Go inside? Talk there yes?" The vine was still drifting on its own, trying to touch Fox again, he slapped it away sharply, growling again. "No reason to hurt parts." The Rinaldi whined. "No reason, no reason, no reason…"

            So here they were, inside one of the circular houses, wet gear sitting on towels but guns still at hand. They weren't sure at all what was going on, and until they were, they weren't going to relax.

            Fox sighed, leaning against the wall, looking at the Rinaldi that was doing all the talking out of the corner of his eyes. The Rinaldi was sitting just out of arm's reach, the vine still waving, obviously very curious but fearing getting struck again. Fox didn't feel guilty. The strange feeling of that vine touching him was still fresh in his mind.

            Jesse, who was wringing out his tail, suddenly said, "What are we going to do?"

            "I don't know." Fox replied in a heavy voice. "So what IS this thing, Jesse? You think you know something, so what do you know?"

            "Not much, but… I think it's some sort of symbiote. A hive mind symbiote."

            "Part wants to know what that part is saying." The Rinaldi said, pointing at Jesse and looking at Wrin. "Part speaks Galaxy Common?"

            "No, he doesn't." Wrin replied. "And his name is Jesse. He thinks you've got some sort of hive-mind ET on you that's making you like this."

            "Part has… but… Not-part Jesse." The Rinaldi finally concluded. Jesse looked up sharply, freezing when the Rinaldi came up to him boldly. Wolf growled very low in his throat, hackles rising immediately. "Part speak Rekuva?"

            "Yes, yes I do." Jesse replied in Rekuva, accents failing. "Well, uh, not well…"

            "Not-Part Jesse is very smart." The Rinaldi said very quietly.

            "I'm right aren't I?" Jesse reached out toward the vine uneasily. "This… this thing is another alien race… a race that needs another living being to survive…"

            "It is a mind… a mother-mind, a link, a unison. All parts drawn into it become a part of a whole, and are complete." The alien frowned, speaking uncertainly.

            "Does it just… force people?"

            "No. No. You have to accept it, Not-Part Jesse."

            Jesse looked at the vine, and felt a lifting curiosity. He understood. So it was a biological borg, an alien which bounded all to it, but if it had to have something's permission… that meant it wasn't evil, right? That it was inherently good? He smiled, almost giddy on the idea of one mind, of belonging somewhere… he had never belonged anywhere…

            Wolf lunged and tried to catch Jesse's hand, but it was too late, the vine had wrapped around Jesse's hand and arm, the vine breaking off from its main body and nestling into Jesse's damp fur. Jesse squeaked in pain, feeling creepers go through his skin, seeking blood, _nourishment, _then the pain was gone, replaced by euphoria. He wasn't a part of this, not yet, but was being shown it, and the galaxy had just opened before him, thousands of minds opening to his, his personality and memories thrown into this union, and voices came into his mind, other scientists, programmers…

            He realized he had collapsed, and that Wolf was holding him, a butterfly knife open in his hand, more then ready to try to cut the Entity away from him. "Jesse?"

            "I… I'm here…" He replied, hearing his voice come out different, knowing that it wasn't just him speaking, it was the Entity acknowledging that it, too, was awake. Jesse closed his eyes for a moment, leaning into Wolf's chest and closing the butterfly knife. "It's ok…" The near-orgasmic experience of the Entity hitting him was fading now, and he felt the Entity look out, look at Wolf and wonder at this new part, this part that wasn't connected to it. He tried to sooth the Entity, tell it that Wolf was good, trying to explain how much he cared for the person holding him.

            Wolf looked at Fox, feeling helpless. Fox only shook his head, he didn't know.

            "So what do we do now?" Falco exploded, standing, hands on his hips. "In less then twenty-four hours they're going to burn this planet to its foundation! We don't exactly have time to lollygag around!"

            "We have to evacuate them out, I guess." Katt said, scratching one of her ears.

            "How? The Great Fox can't handle it." Said Wrin. "We'd need to bring in one of the mother ships of your people… and they're hard to defend…"

            Immediately discussion broke out, everyone trying to figure out what to do. Wolf stayed silent, rocking Jesse absently, unsure of what to do. Drax did as well, taking verbal notes very quietly, knowing that whatever happened here was going to be important to the entire galaxy. If the GalFed saw fit to destroy this Entity, and they were going to deny it, things were sure to get very interesting indeed. 

            "Parts, parts!" The Rinaldi shouted, and eventually they all looked at it, Wrin translating. "Bad storm coming. You stay here until it is over, rest, yes? Talk after? Things needing done."

            "How bad of a storm?" Fox asked slowly.

            "Bad wind, cold fast rain. Parts get sick or hurt or lost."

            "… All right. We'll stay." Fox narrowed his eyes. "But if you try anything that prevents me from returning to my fiancé, so help me I'll shoot you."

            The Rinaldi took a step back. "Parts leave other parts alone now…" Fear apparent, the group of Rinaldi left, going to another house, leaving the Lylatians to stew and watch the torrential rain, which soon worsened to the point they heard trees falling, the visibility less then a foot outside the windows. Eventually the group dozed off, one by one, lulled to a deep uncomfortable sleep by the rain.

            "Fox! Fox, wake up!"

            He yelped and sat up, muscles cramped because he had fallen asleep on the floor, curled up in a tight ball, missing Fara the entire time. Wolf was knelt beside him, eyes frantic. The others were stirring now, but it seemed that Wolf had been the first up. "What? The rain stopped?"

            "Yes, the sun's out, but… Fox. Jesse's GONE."


	5. Chapter Five: Lone Wolf

Chapter Five: Lone Wolf

            "I'm not leaving."

            Falco groaned and flopped back, rubbing his eyes tiredly. The group had combed the area around the city, and found nothing. The storm had wiped away any chance of finding the Rinaldi… or Jesse. They had already concluded that Jesse had been sucked into the Entity, but whether or not that was his reason for leaving, they didn't know. Either way, Wolf had been on edge for the last two hours, hackles up the entire time, bristling with anger and worry to the point that no one was willing to go within arm's reach of him.

            "Look, we've done all we can do, Wolf." Fox finally burst out, arms crossed. "We've combed the area. Jesse doesn't have a transponder, so we can't track him that way. We've got to back up to the Great Fox. The GalFed's 'cleaning crew' is going to be here in less then three hours, according to ROB."

            "Exactly the reason why I am not leaving." Wolf turned away, voice tight. "I'm not leaving Jesse here, Fox."

            "We'll come back for him, but the point is we've go to make sure there's something to come back for, god dammit!" Falco snarled, turning to look at Wolf. "I already agreed to fly this thing, so get in here."

            "Bite me. You can't give me orders, Falco. I'm not going anywhere." During this, Wolf had been checking his gun, and had added a rifle to his gear, slinging it over his shoulder. With one last look at everyone, he turned to leave.

            Fox grabbed the rifle strap and yanked him back. "He can't order you around, Wolf, but I can. I didn't want to stoop to this, but its official, I ORDER you to board the shuttle and return with us. Do you hear me?!" Fox turned him around.

            Time froze as the pair growled at each other for a minute, Fox looking at the near-hysterical panic in Wolf's eyes. Fox knew he was ordering Wolf to leave behind someone Wolf had come to love more then anything, and he was more then willing to risk throwing his life away on the chance that he could find Jesse before the GalFed crew arrived. To Wolf, joining a lover for an apocalypse was better then surviving by abandoning that lover. It was pack law, and his heart demanded nothing else.

            "So what's it going to be Wolf? Risk a court marshal? Or help Jesse by stopping the GalFed?" Fox asked very quietly.

            "I will get you back for this." Wolf replied, and stalked inside one of the shuttles, sitting down by his suit and hugging his knees to his chest, head bowed.

            "Well, I now officially feel like the scum of the earth." Fox sighed. "Let's get the hell out of here before something else blows up in our faces."

            Jesse saw the shuttles take off, and sighed, leaning on the tree and banging his head into it. He had seen the confrontation between Wolf and Fox, and seen Wolf back down angrily. Jesse was kind of glad Fox had made Wolf go, though, as much as he loved Wolf he didn't want to be drug away from this yet.

            The network of the Entity fascinated him, the thousands, hundreds of thousands of voices, races the GalFed didn't even know about, blended together, becoming one driven unit. It wasn't quite as organized as it could be though, Jesse saw the glitches and problems, and as far as he was concerned that was exactly what he had to fix.

            "Part is in pain?"

            He looked down at Mrokin, the Rinaldi which had passed the Entity to him. Those in the Entity kept their names, but didn't use them much. They didn't have to. "Sort of." He sighed, rubbing his eyes as they burned, swallowing a whimper. He hadn't liked the pain in Wolf's eyes. Even as he fought the tears, voices rushed through his mind, comfort, kindness, gentle feelings trying to make him feel better. He wearily shook his head, playing with the vine, which had now wrapped up his arm and over his shoulder, spreading continually as he succumbed bit by bit to the Entity. He fought it, a little, trying to remain himself and not blend into the hive mind.

            "Can this part help?" The Rinaldi leaned into his leg, looking up at him with four innocent glowing eyes.

            "I don't think so." He shook his head again. "Let's go."

            Fara jumped when Wolf stormed by her, punching the wall as he exited the bay, the resounding 'clang' of the metal reverberating through the air. Hope whimpered, and she soothed her child automatically, staring after him. "It's ok, baby." She looked at Fox as he walked up, looking guilty. "You really had to leave Jesse behind?"

            "We didn't have a choice." He replied helplessly. "We couldn't find him and the GalFed crew is a slightly higher priority right now." He rubbed a hand down his face. "Wolf is really mad at me now…"

            "How would you feel if someone forced you to leave me behind, eh?" Fara replied.

            "I wouldn't allow that option, mostly because I'd shoot them. But yes, I do see your point." He drew her close and buried his face into her hair.

            "Christ, you should have seen him." Falco shook his head. "It was like a flashback to the war, the look he was giving Fox."

            The group was silent for a moment, then left the bay together, going up to the bridge. Fox gestured for ROB to continue trying to track Jesse down, flopping in his chair and calling the fleet. "How much time do we have, ROB?"

            "Little less then two hours, if they stay in steady warp." ROB replied, checking in with the tracking signal of the GalFed crew. "It looks like its three heavy cruisers. This is not good. We can't possibly fend that off without taking some heavy, heavy damage."

             "I know, I know." Fox rubbed his eyes, counting the several-second delay as the call went through. "This is McCloud reporting in. We're in orbit around Versyi, and we've had some… complications…"

            "This is Admiral Myers, standing in for General Pepper. Please clarify."

            "We've found what the GalFed is so afraid of. It's basically the Borg, except its natural, some sort of hive-mind symbiote. We went down to the surface and investigated, it looks like the entire Rinaldi colony has been taken." He paused. "One of our crew has been taken by it."

            "How did this happen?"

            "One of the other pilots tried to stop him, but didn't react in time. We ended up camping for a brief time, and he disappeared while we were sleeping. It might be more trouble then it's looking to be, as well, because the one taken was Jesse Patterson, a literal genius. All that information is probably being taken in by this borg ripoff even now."

            There was a pause, then Myers came back on. "Do what you can to prevent the GalFed from acting. We'll petition for the cancellation of the FAKK zones, and do what we can to send backup."

            "It'll take over six hours for any backup you send to arrive, Admiral." Fox replied. "Keep your forces. We'll do what we can here."

            "Roger that McCloud. Fleet out."

            Wolf stormed into the workout room, tossing off his jacket and guns, taking off his boots and stripping from the waist up, taking out his frustration on a punching bag, trying not to think, hackles up as he continually snarled to himself.

            It was so easy to backslide into old ways. It always was. When Fox had pulled him back and ordered him to leave Jesse behind, that old hate had screamed to life, and Wolf had had to restrain himself from striking out at his friend. That hatred had once driven him to kill thousands in a war, he knew it was powerful, he knew what he could do under the influence of it. He wasn't sure he cared, what was the point?

            He snarled and punched, making the bag fly off the hook and onto the ground. He stood panting, trying to control himself. No, he wasn't going to do that. He'd loose too much if he did that… even if all he wanted to do was rampage… No. No. NO! He dropped to his knees, sending his fists into the metal floor, then again, until the pain reached his brain and he forced himself to calm down because of it.

            Old habits, painful old habits. It was so easy to hate, so easy to kill. The part of him that was the cold hunter knew just how easy it would be to strike at his friends, and that very thought calmed him more. There was no point in an easy hunt. There never was. As much as he hated Fox for making him leave the person he loved behind, he knew he couldn't do anything about it. Fox was his leader. He had to obey.

            He howled, letting the cry scream from his throat, echoing through the metal room, hands slamming into the floor again. Damn it! What should he listen to? His training? Instincts? Heart? What should he obey? Should he just submit? Strike out? Rebel and go back to the planet surface? Choking on tears of frustration, he watched the blood spread out around his hands from his battered knuckles, and wondered what to do.

            After several moments he stood and staggered to the workout room's showers, not even bothering stripping the rest of the way, leaning on the wall and leaning into an ice-cold spray, letting it wash away the blood and tears, whimpering to himself, shivering. Cold, so cold…

            "Well, I guess it's better then starting smoking again."

            He jumped and looked over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at Drax, who leaned on the locker bank and watched him with a carefully neutral gaze. "Please. Go away." He heard himself plead. "Please. I… I don't want to talk to anyone right now."

            "That's obvious… I found blood out there. Are you all right? No. Nevermind. Stupid question…"

            Wolf let himself slide down, leaning back against the tiled wall, staring up at the spray and trying to ignore the reporter staring at him. "What do you want?" He finally asked wearily.

            "Christ. Everyone's worried about you. I'm no different."

            "You don't even know me, Drax."

            There was a very long silence. "From what I've come to understand, no one really does. Fox and Jesse know the most, and Fox doesn't seem to know that much."

            "Just go away."

            There was another long silence, Wolf still letting the water run, looking at his hands, flexing his living one to see if the bleeding had stopped yet, then falling still again, letting his mind wander away again, absorbing himself in his thoughts. Somehow he wasn't surprised when Drax huffed, walking over and putting a hand the water, only to yank it away. "My god, that's like ice. You're going to make yourself sick, Wolf." The water was turned off, and one of the larger towels wrapped around his shoulders, Drax crouching beside him, wiping rivulets of water away from his eyes. He closed his eyes and allowed it, not moving. "What are you thinking?"

            "Music." Wolf replied in a bland voice, not moving. His uniform pants clung to him, but he ignored the discomfort. "Trying not to think… Hurts too much."

            "What song?" Drax tried to pull him up, but Wolf turned into dead weight. Huffing, he tossed the soaked towel down the chute and got two others, ignoring the water as he knelt back beside Wolf, unsure of what to do. Wolf opened his living eye for a second, then closed it, taking one of the towels without looking and starting to dry off the mechanical arm. Drax watched as tiny hatches opened, trapped water draining out as Wolf continued the automatic motions.

            "Number One Crush by Garbage."

            "Appropriate." Giving up, he wrapped the towel around Wolf's back and tried to work water out of the silver fur. Wolf allowed it, eyelids fluttering a bit.

            "What is it with you?"

            "What do you mean?" Drax replied.

            "… I don't know. I just can't figure out why you're so nice to me." He let his eyes open, looking at Drax.

            "You're cute."

            That made Wolf laugh a little. "Yeah. Thought you were gay…"

            "And you're bi, and Jesse's transgender. Your point would be…?"

            "None, really." Wolf grunted, hefting himself to his feet and staggering over to his locker, leaning heavily on the door once he had it open. His angry feelings had been replaced by emptiness. He set a change of clothes out, but wasn't even really dry yet. He sighed, looking at Drax. "Would you at least turn around?"

            Drax held up his hands and turned his back, letting Wolf strip out of the soaked clothing. "Modest?"

            "Only around people who would probably check me out." Wolf sighed, humming to himself without really knowing it as he finished drying off then putting on clean clothing, zipping into black jeans and pulling on a white muscle shirt over it, tossing the wet towels and clothing down the chute automatically. "All right. Now what do you want?"

            "Do I have to want something?" Drax turned back around, following Wolf out of the locker rooms.

            "Most people do."

            "All right, fine. Why did you look at Fox like you were going to kill him?"

            Wolf stopped in midstep, looking over his shoulder. "Would 'because he god damn deserves it,' be a good enough answer for you, mister reporter?" And with that he left Drax in the hall, growling to himself.

            Needless to say, the GalFed cleaning crew were a bit surprised when they found a Lylatian fast-attack cruiser waiting for them.

            The three heavy cruisers were a mixed design, mostly based off of Vun warships, complete with the huge heavy guns that the Vun designed for distance combat. But the fighters were more like the Rekuva, with the melee capabilities. Like the ships, the crews were mixed, all aware of the mission they were to carry out, and were determined to do so. They had been told how dangerous the Entity could be.

            They hadn't been told too much about the newest race in the GalFed, so they had to look up what the Great Fox was and who it was registered to. Regardless, they weren't all that happy that the smaller ship was determined to stay in their way.

            "Looks like they're finally trying to page us." Said Katt, looking at the radio controls over Falco's shoulder, who tugged her around to sit on his leg. 

            "Put them through." Fox replied, rubbing his temple. Wolf was hiding in his room, refusing to come out any time soon. The screen in front of him flickered, and a Vun was on the screen, frowning in surprise.

            "Are you the commander of the vessel blocking us?"

            "Better believe it." Fox smiled grimly. "We have decided we don't agree with the GalFed's decision to wipe out so many colonies. We've already landed on this planet and evaluated the situation. The destruction is unnecessary."

            "That's for the GalFed to decide, not a new race with no power as of yet." The Vun replied with a sigh. "Look we know the idea must disturb you, but this planet's contaminated, it must be done… wait. You touched down?"

            "Yes. We did. We've met the threat. And as for contamination, one of our people is down there under the thrall of that threat. We're not going to let you kill off an entire forest world and our friend with it." Fox crossed his arms.

            "If your friend is taken, he is better off dead." The Vun blanched. "I'm sorry it's true! That, that _thing_ that contaminates the planets and spreads like a virus is… is more trouble then you'll believe. Please know we don't want to do this, but we must. We're sorry your friend is down there, but he is better off dead."

            Fox narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe that. We're not going to move."

            "We can go around."

            "I guarantee we're faster then any of the ships you have over there."

            There was a long pause. "Look, Lylatian Commander, we don't want to use force. Just move aside and let us do what we must."

            "No. We're not going to, and you can't change our minds. We're not going to let you carry out your orders, if we can possibly stop it." Fox shut off the radio and huffed. "You'd think the GalFed was god…"

            "One government, claiming democracy, that controls the universe." Peppy said. "Got a better definition of god?"

            Wolf looked up and slicked his ears back when he saw the red light on the wall of his room start flashing, the lights turning down. Battle stations, then, Fox must have pissed the convoy off. He sighed, rubbing his eyes, trying to coax himself out of the room and not able to. Dammit, they were fighting to keep the convoy from wiping out the planet, and Jesse was down there. Why the hell couldn't he get himself to get up and help?

            Because… because… because he didn't know. He didn't want to have to face Fox. He didn't want to try to fight honorably when what he wanted to do was tear through anything that was trying to threaten the person he loved. He had fallen into old habits, and he knew it, and he'd be labeled a monster if he went out. He'd been a monster before. He hadn't liked it much.

            Someone pounded on his door, and he looked up again, sighing. "What?"

            "You gonna come out of there?" Drax's voice sounded a little worried. "Fox and the others just launched, there's gonna be a full-out fight and I think they'll need your help."

            "Go away, Drax. I can't fight right now…" He combed his fingers through his fur, stewing.

            "You mean you won't." There was a pause. "Can I at least come in?"

            "Sure." He reached over and thumped his fist on the remote that keyed the door lock, and Drax came in, looking at him in puzzlement. "So?"

            "So why can't you fight?"

            "Because I'll hurt someone."

            "… Well. That's honest, I guess." Drax crouched down in front of Wolf, who was sitting on his bed, elbows propped on his knees. Wolf didn't look at him. "Listen, the guy in charge of the cleanup crew, a Vun, sounds pretty determined. He sympathized for Jesse, too, but just said Jesse was better off dead if the Entity's got him."

            Wolf growled to himself. "I can't believe that."

            "Fox didn't either." He looked at the pain in Wolf's eyes. "What's wrong?"

            "Getting eaten by my past. That's all." Wolf wearily returned the gaze, and huffed, angry at himself. He was tired, angry, bloodthirsty, and of all things horny. Some things just always went together. "What do you think the odds are?"

            "Well, according to Peppy, the Vun design their ships to have guns that can tear up planets like anything. The GalFed actually has a gun that can burn up a planet's surface like it isn't there. ROB's worried they might try to use it on the Great Fox if they get pissed." Drax rubbed his chin. "About a thousand to one against us, I guess."

            Wolf sat back and laughed loudly. "I was wondering how they planned on doing it…" He went silent when the Great Fox rocked, alarms screaming. "Damn melee fighters."

            "No kidding." Drax stood slowly. "You really should help, Wolf…"

            "I can't. I just told you that. I'm too dangerous right now." He stood and went over to the window, watching as a pair of arwings went by, chasing off some of the ET fighters and going after one of the cruisers. "Looks pretty even right now. The GalFed ships aren't angry enough to really try."

            "That won't last for long, probably."

            "I know."

            The pair stood silently for a long time, absorbed in their thoughts.

            ROB gunned it, the Great Fox flying backward, guns thundering, picking off some of the drone fighters and scoring the hull of the GalFed ships, trying to stay between the GalFed ships and the planet, analyzing the entire time. The GalFed really didn't feel like hurting their newest allies, but it was obvious their presence had hurt relations more then a bit.

            "We've got power readings on the main ship, ROB." Slippy said, looking at the readout screens.

            "Break off!" ROB told Fox, and the Great Fox suddenly dove, ROB shoving all energy to boosters. The AI didn't know how to panic, really, but it knew that those power readings meant big trouble.

            The beam of energy lashed out of the Vun cruiser, and the Great Fox rocked as one of the wings were slashed off, the hot energy going through the planet's atmosphere and tracing lazily across it. The once-white clouds turned black with smoke and ash as lightning writhed around the continual laser beam.

            The team attacked the cruiser, which shrugged them off, the destruction continuing. The GalFed had decided that nothing the Lylatians did could stop the heavy cruisers from doing their job.

            Which is where they were wrong.

            "Dammit, no!" Wolf screeched, punching the window, watching with wide eyes as the planet burned. "Jesse…" That came out helplessly, and he turned away from the window, grabbing some CDs and his handgun.

            "Wolf…? What are you going to do?" Drax asked, watching this in confusion.

            "What I need to." He paused, looking down at the mouse, and sighed. "Don't tell anyone I did this…" He dropped the CDs on the bed and yanked Drax close, kissing him briefly and passionately, then left the room, scooping the CDs up as he went, not wondering why he had just done that. He didn't love Drax, but.. but… oh what the hell, he was pretty sure he was going to die within the next ten minutes, so why not?

            He went down to the launching bay, glanced around, and went to his suit, loading the CDs into the slots then tossing his shirt off, slowly stepping in and letting the suit hook up, the strange feeling of the neuroconnection settling in as the suit closed around him. Only then did he go one of the shuttles, giving it verbal orders to launch. The arwings weren't so much as touching the GalFed ships. Perhaps it was time for a new tactic. 

            "What the hell?" Fox turned and gaped as the shuttle launched, blasting by them. "ROB, who was that? Was that Wolf?"

            "Yes. His radio's off. We can't talk to him." ROB replied. The Great Fox had limped off to one side, hanging lopsided in space, one wing sheered off, engines blackened. The cruiser wasn't beyond repair, but it couldn't take another hit like that and still be able to travel. 

            "What the hell is he doing?" Katt wanted to know, looking at his trajectory. "Oh, hell. He's charging their launching bay. He's going to board."

            "I'm not sure if he's stupid or a genius…" Fox moaned, looking at the planet, and couldn't take it. He just couldn't. His system had already been wiped out, how could someone just do this? "Come on guys, let's give him an escort in."

            "Now we're talking." Falco whooped, and they charged ahead of the slower, less-armored shuttle, plowing the road for it, breaking off before they hit the sealed bay. The shuttle didn't break off, and went right through the shields in a sputter of fire, wings snapping off but making it all the same.

            "Good luck Wolf." Fox sighed. "Let's try to keep Jesse alive for him…"

            The sudden entry of the shuttle into the Vun cruiser shocked the crew members inside, needless to say. They had dived out of the way, and now stood there, staring at the sparking, wrecked shuttle, which was leaning against a wall. No one had come out yet. It was a Lylatian shuttle, by the markings, but who was crazy enough to just try to charge in like that?

            A rekuva stepped forward and clambered up onto the wreck, studying the door, and yanked on it, trying to open it. The effort was for naught, because rounds tore through the door, streams of fire from a slug-thrower igniting the oxygen rich air as they punctured the ceiling. Chaos broke out as the door flew off, and a huge robot stood there, framed by the broken shuttle, guns still smoking from the creation of an exit.

            "Who the hell are you?" Demanded the Rekuva, standing and brushing itself off.

            Inside the suit, Wolf smiled a bit, nodding along to an acoustic soundtrack lazily. This was going to get him in trouble, and he knew it, but when he had launched he had seen the damage to the Great Fox, the planet boiling away, and suddenly he didn't care. Honor was obviously already out the window, if they were killing colonists because of fear of the unknown.

            "If you feel alive, in a darkened room… do you know the name of your solitude?" He sang along, walking away from the shuttle casually, letting his voice echo strangely out of the suit, footsteps heavy. "They cannot end this mourning of my life." He looked at the guards that had arrived, and sighed, shaking his head. "Show me… how the gods kill."

            The music screamed in his ears, and he braced the suit as the guns came to life, chewing into the walls behind the guards, which dove down as the bay was systematically ripped apart. Wolf leapt over them in a trail of smoke and ignited oxygen, blowing the door open and tearing through the ships, leaving destruction in his wake. He didn't know how many had died. He didn't care. He had gotten one level up when they decided to try to take him out. 

            The laser bolts pinged off the chest plate of the suit, and little stings of pain let him know the armor was being damaged. He sighed when his guns spun empty, knocking out the clips and loading off the rack on the back of the suit, opening fire again, plowing his way through the guards.

            "If you feel alive, if you got no fear, do you know the name of the one you seek?

If you want the answer, if you want the truth, look inside your empty soul, there you'll find the noose!"

            By the third level up, the crew had realized that there was no way to take this ravaging monster out, and just ran. From that point on, it took him only moments to reach the command deck, strolling in like he owned the place, suit splattered with blood.

            "Stop firing that damn gun." He said, leveling the smoking barrels at the captain.

            "You'll kill us all, you fire now!" The Vun was terrified, voice shaking.

            "You should have realized by now that my life is not of consequence, and if this ship is taken out, that gun stops firing. It's your choice captain. I didn't want to kill your crew."

            "Then why did you?"

            Wolf sighed, turning his head. "They were in the way. Now stop that gun."

            Fox sighed in relief when the planet-scorching laser died out. According to ROB, the colonized area had been missed, but a third of the planet lay desolated now. "Any word from Wolf?"

            "Not yet." ROB replied. "We can assume he was successful in what he did."

            "Wish we knew what that was, exactly." Fara's voice remarked. "But I think we can assume that whatever it was, it was violent. He took his suit with him."

            The Vun captain's voice came onto the radio, sounding scared to death. "We're backing down."

            "Well, that's nice to know." Falco said. "What convinced you of that?"

            "Twelve barrels of incendiary rounds are a very good negotiator." There was a pause, and the Vun burst out. "Your entire race is insane, you know that?"

            Wolf's laughter echoed into the radio. "Only some of us, Commander. Only some of us."


	6. Chapter Six: Retribution

Chapter Six: Retribution

            Fara sat back, watching as Fox fielded the many, many transmissions coming at the Great Fox. The colonies expressed a lot of relief, since they now knew what was being planned for them. The GalFed was furious and wanted Wolf in their possession immediately. The Lylatian High Command had mixed feelings, telling the GalFed that they weren't allowed to take Wolf, but knowing they'd have to figure out something to do with the slightly unstable soldier.

            For Fox's end of it, he had picked up Wolf from the GalFed cruiser, and had locked him down in his room. Wolf hadn't protested, turning the suit over without arguing, and wasn't saying too much in general.

            "Look, yes, he killed a reported sixty-three people…" Fox was speaking into a headset, Falco had torn into enough of the people Fox was just taking everything as a private call. "But you can quit calling him a psychopath… Well, maybe he is in your opinion, but he's our psychopath, so we're not turning him over to you… Well, I never said we were going to cooperate." He disconnected and reached over to her, pulling her close and leaning his head against her stomach, drinking in her scent. "Busy morning."

            "Indeed." Fara smiled a touch, ruffling his fur. "Talked to Wolf?" In the backpack behind her, Hope was peering around, usually quiet but then bursting out in sudden happy babbling. She had managed to scare the unholy crap out of Slippy this morning by doing so, too.

            "Not since I locked him down last night." He admitted, nuzzling her. "He seemed kind of… withdrawn."

            "He misses Jesse."

            "I know." He sighed and stood. "Field radio calls for me?"

            "You'll owe me for it." She smiled slyly.

            "Gladly." He grinned, and went to the kitchen, grabbing two mugs of coffee then going to Wolf's room, hesitating then opening the door.

            Wolf looked up, taking his headphones off. He was sprawled on his bed, staring at the ceiling, diskman next to him. "Hi, Fox."

            "Morning." Fox sat on the edge of the bed, handing Wolf one of the mugs. "Sorry I didn't talk to you last night."

            "S'ok." Wolf sat up, accepting the mug gladly. "I… didn't really want to." After taking a drink, he continued. "So. How upset is everyone?"

            "Well, the GalFed wants your head on a plate."

            "I'm not surprised."

            "The High Command don't really know what to think… but they're happy you stopped the destruction, so they're in no hurry to give out a reprimand. Nor are they in any hurry to turn you over to the GalFed. The Colonies that were marked think you're a hero, as what was going to happen has spread around now."

            "I'm not a hero, Fox."

            "Neither am I."

            They sat in quiet companionship for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company, Wolf absorbed in his thoughts. After a while, he spoke up. "Are you mad at me?"

            "No. Not really. I mean, what you did scared the crap out of me, I won't lie. But I think I understand why you did it. If it had been Fara down there, I probably would have destroyed that GalFed cruiser."

            "… Speaking of that… Any word on Jesse?"

            "None yet. The colony wasn't anywhere near the region destroyed, so we can only assume he's safe. We're still trying to find him. No luck yet… I'm sorry."

            "It isn't your fault, Fox. I just want him back." He sighed, then smiled a little. "So. Am I still grounded?"

            "For now, yes." Fox returned the smile. "But we'll allow visitors. Good enough?"

            "Good enough. And I'm hungry, damn it."

            Fox laughed, standing. "I'll find you something then."

            "Thanks, Fox."

            "It doesn't feel like I'm doing nearly enough, believe me."

            Drax sighed, wandering out of the freezer and kicking it closed behind himself, sucking on a fudgesickle. Wolf was still locked down in his room, though Fox had laughingly remarked that he had visitation rights now. Most of the group had drifted by already, talking and making sure Wolf didn't get left out of the loop for what was going on. In fact, Drax was pretty sure he was the only person that hadn't dropped by yet.

            But with good reason, right? Not that he hadn't enjoyed the last time they had been together, hell, he had dreamt about it. He hadn't figured out exactly why Wolf had done it though.

            "That's a healthy lunch."

            He jumped and scowled at Slippy, licking a drip off his hand. "Comfort food, ok?"

            Slippy smiled, going through one of the cabinets, looking for real sugar to put in his coffee. "No wonder you get along so great with the girls…"

            "Har-de-freaking-har." He rolled his eyes and left the kitchen, hesitated, then went to the personal quarters wing, knocking on the door. "Can I come in Wolf?"

            "No, sorry, I'm in the process of beating this incredibly hard RPG… of course you can come in, Drax. Sheesh."

            He had to laugh at that, slipping through the door and sitting on the edge of the bed. Wolf was laying on the floor, popping his knuckles in what looked to be an all-out nicotine craving. "The trials of cold turkey, eh?"

            "Oh, yeah." Wolf agreed. "So. What took you so long?"

            "Had an article to write, among other things." He replied, sucking on the fudgesickle. "You look bored out of your mind."

            "My video game systems are in the den, as are most of my books. I have redefined boredom. Thank you for becoming the light of my afternoon." Wolf rolled his eyes, sitting up. "I think owe you an apology."

            "Huh? What for?"

            "Kissing you."

            Drax laughed out loud. "There is no need to apologize for that, Wolf. Trust me."

            "I think so. I mean, I didn't explain myself. I feel like I'm misleading you."

            "Because you care for Jesse so much?" When Wolf nodded, Drax leaned over and ruffled Wolf's fur. "It's ok. I know you care for someone else. Doesn't mean we can't be friends, though. It seems like you need someone to talk to."

            "Sometimes." Wolf admitted, accepting the affection. "I'm friends with the entire crew, but most of them don't understand me."

            "I'd like to."

            "Huh?"

            "I mean it. You're a wonderful, complex person, Wolf. Kind of an angel in disguise. You did a very selfless thing yesterday. You don't deserve the slander you're getting."

            Wolf snorted. "Gott weib ich will kein Engel sein."

            "Just because you don't want to be an angel doesn't mean you aren't one." Drax shook his fudgesickle at him, laughing when Wolf's reply was to steal of bite of it. "Flirt."

            "Am not."

            "Are so."

            "Am not."

            Drax laughed again, pushing off the bed and sitting beside Wolf, sharing what was left of the fudgesickle with him. Wolf didn't argue, shifting so they were both leaning back against the bed.

            "I have friends who would see this and immediately say were dating." Drax remarked in bemusement once the fudgesickle was finished. Wolf had the stick hanging out of his mouth, mostly out of habit thanks to smoking.

            "Eh, probably goes for most of the people on this ship too." Wolf chewed on the stick absently, trying not to think about just how badly he wanted a cigarette. Stress, he knew, but ah well. He said he'd quit, so he would. Besides, he had traded all his cigarettes to the Genesis' head cook a while ago.

            "You just need someone to snuggle."

            "Thanks for volunteering, but I'm trying to be good. Really."

            "Your halo is crooked."

            "Screw you."

            "Please?"

            Wolf laughed, rubbing his eyes. "God. We're pathetic."

            "Nah. Just hopeless." He took the stick from Wolf, who tried to grab it back. "Hey! Down boy!"

            "I need to get out of here." Wolf banged his head against the bedframe. "I have too much energy."

            "I can work some of that off."

            "Ok, that's it. Out." Wolf pointed at the door. "You ain't leading me into temptation."

            Drax left, laughing the entire time.

            "This part is afraid." Mrokin said, standing at the edge of the surviving forest, looking at the destruction. The laser had cut canyons into the ground, burned animals to the bone, destroyed trees to ash. "So afraid. Why other parts do this?"

            "It is they who are really afraid." Jesse replied, stepping into the wasteland, hugging himself. "That's why they did this. They're scared of our link."

            "Would they have destroyed this part?"

            "They probably wanted to do this to the entire planet, Mrokin." Jesse sighed, kneeling, running his hands through the reddish, clay-rich dirt. "Something or someone stopped them… probably my friends."

            Jesse had been busy these last few days, but his work had been severely disrupted by the scream of death that echoed around the planet. The Entity embraced all. Apparently this little planet had its own race just breeching into sentience, and the Entity had taken it in, letting its society progress and develop with the help of all in the connection. The scream of 'we are dying!' had been agony for all within the Entity, whether on the planet or off it.

            "Part ok?" Mrokin rubbed against his legs, looking up at him. 

Jesse smiled sadly down at the alien, knowing how much of a liking Mrokin had taken to him. "This part is all right, friend. I just… I miss Wolf. That's all."

"Part should return to part's mate then."

"You know I can't yet." He sighed and stood. "Let's get out of here. This gives me the outright creeps."

"Looks like the Calvary's arrived." Peppy remarked, looking up. "Where's Fox?"

"Reading something to Fara in the den, poetry or somesuch." Slippy replied, opening a soda and leaning against one of the computer consoles absently. "Hence why Wrin is pampering Hope currently…"

"Guess I get to field this then." Peppy watched as the GalFed cruiser joined the others, apparently in discussion, seeming to ignore the smaller, damaged Lylatian shuttle. Thank god for small miracles.  ROB was trying to get some of it repaired, but the wing would have to be replaced by experts. "If they're even interested, that is…"

"They will be in a few minutes. Wolf's got an interesting reputation in the Galaxy right now. They probably still want him in jail."

"As Fox put it, he's a psychopath, but he's our psychopath." He smiled sourly, answering the radio when it chirped. "This is the Great Fox."

"This is Ship Commander and Honored Male Tuyin." The Rekuva came up on the screen. "Are you the commander of the Lylatian vessel Great Fox?"

"I'm in charge currently. Our commander is not available to talk. May I assist you?"

"I suppose." Tuyin frowned, slicking his antennae back. "I really was hoping to speak to your commander, though."

"He's on break. So, what do you need?" Peppy rubbed one of his temples absently.

"The GalFed has been discussing the Lylatian known as Wolf O'Donnel. It is to our understanding he is the one that killed so many people in an attempt to stop the FAKK order, correct?"

"First, he not only made the attempt, he succeeded. Second, yes, he is the one you've heard about. He's locked down in his quarters currently."

"Has your government decided on what his punishment shall be?"

"No. I doubt they'll even bother." Peppy sighed. "As a member of our group, he's considered a mercenary, like we are. They can't really court marshal him about this, so they haven't done anything yet."

"The Galaxy Federation would like to give him the punishment he deserves you know. So many dead! How can you stand to even be on a ship with him?"

"He's my friend, and I've killed a lot of people in my day as well. We're mercenaries, Tuyin. It's what we do. We may be honorable, but we are mercenaries. And your people made the mistake of not only firing on a planet of innocents, but firing on a planet where the person Wolf loves happens to be. You guys brought this one on yourselves, as far as Lylat is concerned."

The Rekuva frowned. "That is certainly not a good attitude. We have helped Lylat so much, we cannot understand why you refuse to turn over a criminal."

"He's not a criminal. He's a soldier, and a good one. We take care of our own, Tuyin, so tell your superiors they can give up in being the ones to punish Wolf. Now, that said, is there anything else you wish to speak about?"

"I've been told to inform you that the FAKK orders stand, and that if you take your presumed-corrupted team member on board, the crew of your ship will be marked as contaminated."

"Thank you for informing us of that. Great Fox clear." Peppy turned off the radio and sighed. "Lovely. So if we get Jesse back and they find out, we're on their list of things to squash out of existence. But if we don't get Jesse back, Wolf will probably go nuts over time."

"If they haven't killed us yet, they'll have a problem doing so in the future as well." Said Katt dryly. "What are we going to do? If the FAKK orders are still up…"

"We'll figure it out." Peppy reassured her. "First priority right now is to find Jesse. Bad enough we had to leave him behind, no way we're doing it for longer then needed." 

"It figures that such a pretty race has such beautiful children." Jirest said, smiling and watching as Wrin played with Hope, both laying on the floor, the child squirming and trying to crawl, but without the strength to do so. Hope didn't watch people's faces, rather watched their movement, fascinated by wagging tails or other fast motions. That said, Wrin was making sure to keep her antenna out of reach.

"Mm. Couldn't agree more." She sat up and leaned into his leg, watching as Hope gave up trying to crawl and got quiet, curling up tightly and sucking on a pacifier.

"Wrin?"

"Yes?"

"Why… why do you insist on staying with me?" He looked down at her, face confused. "You were a ship commander, on your way to be promoted again! Yet here you are, taking care of a partly-blind cripple…"

"I wanted to help you, Jirest." She replied, returning his gaze, noticing his eyes couldn't focus completely. "I have to. It seems wrong to leave you alone…"

"I'm not alone, here." He pointed out.

She sighed. Jirest, lovely Jirest, always distant, never quite understanding. She picked up Hope gently and set her on the couch, snuggling down next to Jirest and leaning into his shoulder. "And you're less alone with me here. Believe me, I want to stay."

"… I don't understand… but thank you."

She smiled a bit. "No problem. No problem at all."

Wolf looked up, taking off his headphones. "So. Do they have a verdict?"

Fox sighed, sitting down next to Wolf, nodding as he rubbed his fingers through his fur. "Yes, they have. It's nothing horrid, but I don't think it's very fair." Glancing at his friend, he sighed again and continued. "They're suspending you from action for six months and demanding that you start seeing a psychiatrist regularly, for at least a year. I'm also supposed to take all of your guns from you."

"I agree. Nothing horrid, but irritating all the same." He sighed and smiled sadly. "I guess that means I'm out of the air then, hmm?"

"Yes indeed. I'm sorry, Wolf."

"No. No. It's ok. I deserve a lot worse, for what I did. If anything, I can be a cook."

Fox smiled a touch. "God knows how much we appreciate it." Seeing sadness in Wolf's eyes, he tugged his friend into a half-hug. "Don't scare us like that again, all right?"

Wolf felt himself smile, shaking his head. "I can't believe you're not even mad…"

"Like I told you before. I understand." He hesitated, then continued. "Listen, Wolf, the GalFed has told us that if we do find Jesse and bring him back on board, the entire ship will be marked as contaminated."

Wolf's smile faded, ears pressing back. "The GalFed is going too far."

"We know. We can't agree more. But we're not in a position to argue right now, with the Great Fox damaged as it is and our race just reestablishing itself. Don't worry, though, we're still looking for Jesse. We won't leave him behind."

"Thanks, Fox." He leaned into his commander, accepting the support, yawning widely. The next few minutes of conversation were muddled, and Fox quickly realized that Wolf was dozing off on his shoulder, muzzle leaning against his arm.

"Maybe I should let you get some sleep…" 

"Mm? No. Night terrors." Wolf mumbled, just barely conscious. "Never… stay asleep very long…"

"Is that why we always find you asleep in the den?" Fox shook his head wearily. "You should get help for that, Wolf."

"Mrm… gonna… have to see a shrink anyway…" Wolf yawned again and curled up, leaning into Fox's leg automatically.

"You have a thing for sleeping in my lap don't you?" Fox sighed, shaking his head. "Why you know very well I'm straight…" Wolf made a purring noise and slipped fully into slumber, leaving Fox trapped sitting on his bed, rubbing his eyes in exasperation.

Fara, who had been wandering around looking for Fox, eventually tapped at Wolf's bedroom door, jumping when Fox answered, cautiously leaning in, then smothering a fit of laughter. "Oh, god. Not again."

"We've got to get Jesse back." Fox smiled sourly, scratching Wolf's living ear, grinning when Wolf twitched in his sleep, tail thumping lazily. "If anyone needs someone to cuddle, it's this guy."

"Fox, honey, if you weren't so involved with me, he'd probably be after you. He loves you a lot, he just respects us both."

He sighed and nodded. "That's what I figured…" He slowly pushed away, scratching Wolf's ear again when his friend whimpered, one arm reaching out for his presence even though he wasn't awake. "God. If I ever find out who hurt him so much, I'll kill them. I swear."

"We'll all help, believe me." She kissed his cheek as they left the room arm-in-arm, leaning into each other. "Listen, Fox… I'm worried about Hope…"

            "… we are going to finish what was started with this planet…"

            "No, you are not!" Falco yelled at the top of his lungs. "One of friends is down there! You are not going to fire those cannons!"

            "If one of your friends is down there, they are contaminated. Death is the best thing for them." The voice was cold, efficient. Tuyin's fear had rattled him so badly he had been replaced, and the current convoy of four GalFed ships floated in formation a very short distance away from the Great Fox. Everyone knew they were in range of the GalFed guns, and the Great Fox was still damaged. It was an uneasy stalemate, and everyone knew it wouldn't last very long.

            "You're wrong!" Falco snarled, feathers on end. ROB for his part kept between the planet-killing laser and the planet itself, a deadly place to be. ROB knew that laser would go right through the Great Fox, but they were bargaining on the fact that the GalFed wouldn't fire with their newest ally's heroes in the way. It wasn't much to bargain with, but it was all they had. "Why are you so afraid? The Entity isn't what you think it is!"

            "You say that even as you've lost someone to it? You are deluded!"

            "Go to Hell!  We aren't moving!"

            "We've got incoming unknowns." ROB suddenly intoned.

            "Where from?" Slippy asked, staring at the screens. "The surface? What the hell?"

            "ROB, get Fox. I know he's in the medbay, but get him up here." Falco said, looking at the flurry of orange dots (the normal color of a UFO), which had launched and was now roaring out of the atmosphere, coming right at them, and the convoy. "I can't deal with this… Peppy, a little help here?"

            The older pilot sat down in the other command seat, typing as fast as Falco was, trying to bring up information on the unknown planes. Nothing came up. They didn't respond to any radio signals at all.

            "Are those friends of yours?" The Rinaldi in charge of the convoy asked, all four eyes narrowed. For a Rinaldi to be commanding a ship was strange, for one to willingly kill members of its own species was stranger. The Star Fox crew had already decided this new commander was unstable.

            "No. Yours?" Falco asked distractedly. "ROB, can you bring guns up?"

            "No. They are moving too fast to target." ROB replied, sounding tense. "Brace for impact. They're here."

            Fox skidded into the bridge just as a swarm of arrow-shaped mechanical objects flew past the Great Fox, parting like water to not hit the damaged cruiser and sinking into the GalFed's main cruiser, followed by a second wave that hit the other cruisers. Cries came over the radio channels as the UFOs burrowed in, and in a flash of light exploded.

            Everyone on the bridge ducked and covered automatically, then stared in shock as shrapnel flew around them. Four GalFed cruisers, wiped out in seconds, by an unknown source? What was going on?

            "Sweet Jesus, God." Peppy said in shock. "So many dead…"

            The intercom beeped, and ROB turned it on automatically, only for Wolf's voice to assault everyone's ears. "HELLO? Would someone tell me what's going on? Or come unlock my room? Or something? What the hell was that light?"

            "The GalFed ships are gone, Wolf." Fox replied in a blank voice.

            "Warped?"

            "No. Destroyed. We don't know by what."

            There was a long pause. "Oh. God. We're going to take the blame for it then…"

            Silence descended on the ship, Fox leaning his elbows on his knees, head bowed. After a few minutes Fara came in, cradling Hope, and Fox took her, rocking his daughter absently, seeming near tears.

            The radio's light flashed silently, but it took a few minutes for everyone to notice. Fox nodded weakly, and ROB answered it, only to mute it when a screech of technogarble came through the speakers, broken lettering flowing across a screen.

            "What the hell is that?" Falco asked, staring at the screen.

            Slippy laughed. "It's… I swear to God, it sounds like a modem."

            "That's what it is." ROB said very, very slowly. "It's Jesse, getting a message to us somehow. And I quote, 'Sorry I didn't act fast enough. Hopefully that'll teach those bastards a lesson. Can you come pick me up?'"

            "Revenge." Peppy said slowly. "The Entity understands revenge."

            Fox was silent, still cradling Hope, then sighed. "Falco, go let Wolf out of his room and tell him to go pick up Jesse." When Falco was almost out the door, Fox smiled sourly. "And remind him that if he wrecks another shuttle, it'll come out of his hide and paycheck."

            Falco laughed.

            Revenge?

            The Entity, stretched across so many systems, a thriving Hive-Mind, hadn't wanted revenge per se. It had drawn information from Jesse, basking in the new knowledge, and given Jesse a lot in return. The Entity told Jesse that he didn't have to stay; the Entity forced no one to stay. It was simply that none wanted to leave.

            The Entity hadn't expected so many of itself to die when the laser struck, and the pain ripped throughout the entire connection. As if the death that wasn't horrid enough, many more suffered, hundreds of thousands of innocents, and the Entity couldn't stand it anymore.

            It was child's play to plan, really, the resurrection of the sleeping weaponry, the massive deployment of the insidious devices which Jesse had figured out how to work in moments had been glorious indeed, but not as glorious as the death of their enemies above them.

            Once the destruction was over, the Entity told Jesse to return to who he loved. His work didn't have to be completed immediately, besides, the Entity took care of its own.


End file.
